


They Call Me The Taylor

by zeerogue



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Beta Shiro (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith works at knock off hooters, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Keith (Voltron), Omega Verse, Teacher Lance, mentions teenage pregnancy, talk of depression and other mental sadnesses, talk of pregnancy and that in which must be decided when it is unplanned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:08:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28325850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeerogue/pseuds/zeerogue
Summary: Keith had made the choice to raise his daughter alone and keep her father in the dark. Then he meets her new teacher who is familiar and everything Keith is weak to.Or: Keith sucks at names.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 104
Kudos: 259





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, a present for ya'll.   
> This is a short fic, but I will update it every two weeks. The reason is I'm probably going to work on another long fantasy fic.......let's hope it doesn't come out to 200K again, but that being the case I just need to stretch this one out a little so the wait for the next one isn't as long.....as it could be cuz it will still probably be aug or sept before that one is seen by anyone but me. 
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoy this.

**They Call Me The Taylor**

**By: ZeeRogue**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Chapter 1**

  
  
  


A string of muffled curse words fell from Keith’s mouth as he pulled off the exit that led to his daughter’s elementary school. He glanced back at the eight year old through his rearview mirror only to meet bright blue eyes with their familiar gaze of contempt. 

“You’re saying bad words.”

Keith cursed again. “Shit, sorry, Doll.”

The little girl sighed and turned to look out the window. “I’m not angry with you, Dad.”

Dad, not Daddy. Keith sighed as well. “I can be angry with myself.”

“You came right back, though.”

No, he came back after he’d made it to the first traffic light which was three blocks away. “I’m sorry, Taylor.”

The little girl huffed and crossed her arms in reply. She was adamant about not having this conversion for the third time this car ride. 

Keith didn’t understand. Nothing had really changed to throw off his rhythm. Sure this was the first day of school for his now third grader, but it wasn’t like it was the first day of kindergarten or middle school. Taylor knew her school. The school knew them. Still the same amount of blocks and lights. There were new clients for Keith’s freelance assistant research, but that was normal. He’d grown accustomed to new clients in his part time jobs. 

Nothing should have thrown him off.

So what in the blazing hells had caused Keith to leave the apartment that morning and head for the school without his daughter?

Keith slowed for a school bus then turned to get into the drop off line. On a normal day, he would drive right up and let a teacher escort Taylor out. Instead, Keith found a lucky spot in the back of visitor parking and opened the door for his daughter. 

“You don’t have to come in, Dad,” Taylor said. 

Keith grabbed his daughter’s cat printed lunchbox from the car floor and handed it to her. “I know, but we missed ‘Meet The Teacher Day’.”

“Yeah, and?”

Keith rolled his eyes at his daughter’s sass. He knew she got that language from him, but he was never sure how to deal with it. “And, he’s a new teacher.”

Taylor shrugged and grabbed onto the straps of her backpack also littered with prints of cats. Keith reached out to take her hand, but she ignored it so he adjusted her black pigtails and flicked dust away from the blue pom poms that decorated them. 

Once inside the school, Taylor moved closer to Keith and grabbed his sleeve. There were many children and their parents rushing around. A few were crying, more yelling. Not so surprisingly, the yelling came mostly from parents of much younger children. Keith took his daughter’s hand in his and kept a tight hold as they walked to the third grade hallway. 

“Mr. McClain’s class. Red Lion. Ah, I think it’s the one there on the end,” Keith said. 

“It has a red door,” Taylor pointed out. 

Keith sighed. “Smart as always, Doll.”

As they reached the door to the classroom, Taylor pulled her hand away from Keith’s and stood up taller. Keith glanced into the classroom and frowned seeing a couple of the children inside, but overall he didn’t know most of their parents and that was a good sign. There was a note to knock and Keith did stepping back to wait for the teacher to greet them. 

The door opened and Keith reached out to fuss with Taylor’s hair again before stopping. Mr. McClain was a tall, tan, dream of a young man. He had freckles and glasses and wore a casual suit in blue with a tie printed with apples that was the only sign that he worked with children. And he was an alpha. 

“Oh,” Keith said. 

The teacher stared back at Keith. He looked surprised, too. Keith was used to that, though. Mr. McClain switched to narrowing his eyes and stood taller like a typical alpha when pressed, but quickly caught himself and loosened back up. He turned his attention to Taylor.

“Hello, and who might you be?”

“T-Taylor Shirogane,” she answered. 

“Shirogane?” Mr. McClain glanced back at Keith. 

He looked at him with blue eyes. 

Blue eyes. 

McClain????

Keith’s face heated up and he cleared his throat. “I’m Keith Shirogane. This is my daughter, Taylor. She will be in your class this year.”

The teacher tilted his head, but held out a hand towards Keith. “I’m Lance McClain. It would be a pleasure to teach your daughter this year. I’ll be in charge of their science and social studies lessons.” 

Lance?

Ah. 

Keith nodded and took the offered hand. 

Wrong name. 

Keith turned to Taylor. “Go on inside. Shiro will pick you up and take you for ice cream after school.”

“Your seat will have your name plate,” Lance explained. “Go ahead and talk to your friends.”

Taylor frowned and looked between them both before pushing inside. 

“Sorry, she’s a little hard headed,” Keith explained. 

“Oh, I don’t mind.”

“It’s rare for alpha’s to teach elementary school, particularly males, did they give you all the troublemakers?” Keith asked. 

Mr. McClain chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. Oh, so...her father will be picking her up?”

Keith shook his head. “No, uncle. My brother.”

“Ah, I see.”

This...was awkward, Keith admitted to himself. Taylor’s homeroom teachers had all been women and quite older until now. The principle was an alpha, but Keith knew the man through his brother. He didn’t often talk to anyone else at the school. 

“Sorry, you just looked familiar. I know you’re new here.”

The teacher laughed. “Oh, I thought you looked familiar, too. Finally getting to teach is bringing back old memories I suppose.”

“Yeah, school,” Keith agreed then dug his hands into his pockets. He felt his phone and pulled it out. He looked at the time, but didn’t really have anywhere to go. “I see she’s in safe hands so I will get going.”

“Certainly. I’ll keep her safe, don’t worry,” the teacher said. 

Keith gripped his phone and quickly turned away. “I’m not worried about her.”

All the way back to his car, Keith held his breath. He let it out when he was finally at the steering wheel and pressed his forehead into his hands. That had been close. Keith started up the car. He had already had two close calls today. Everything came in threes. 

Keith drove slowly back to the apartment. 

🧵

“Are you at the apartment? Did Taylor do her homework already? You didn’t let her eat ice cream after six, right?”

The voice on the other end of Keith’s call chuckled into the receiver. “Yes I’m at the apartment. It’s Friday on the first week of school, third graders don’t get homework. And Taylor didn’t have ice cream today. I took her out for cake and she’s eating fish sticks and broccoli right now.”

“Did you put anything weird on the broccoli, Shiro?”

“I promise all I did was heat up what you told me to in the microwave. I’m about as trustworthy with a stove as Taylor is. She did the rest.”

Keith finally let out a sigh. 

“You seem worked up, Keith.”

“It’s nothing, Shiro. It’s just been an odd week. You would think I’d be used to having her in school by now.”

“You think you’d be used to me taking care of my niece, too.”

Keith cringed. Shiro had been a big support for years. Shiro was the only one Keith would let help him on a regular basis after daycare proved to be a bust with Keith’s schedule.

“I’m sorry.”

“I get tired of hearing you say that, Keith. You’re on break, why don’t you take a proper break for once. It’s not easy dealing with those customers.”

Keith rolled his eyes. He’d had worse customers at other jobs. “Yeah, alright. My break is almost over anyways and I’ve got a bachelor party coming in soon.”

Shiro made a sympathetic noise on the other end and they hung up. 

Work. 

Keith opened the supply closet he always hid in during his breaks and went to the changing room. There was a girl sitting in a corner wrapped up in a jacket and sweats on her lunch break reading a college textbook. She didn’t even look up at Keith as he entered and Keith was grateful. He hated small talk with his co-workers and most of them were the talkative type. Any of the older workers knew not to approach Keith off the floor. He was a completely different person and it drained him of any and all social skills elsewhere. 

After throwing his own jacket back into his locker, Keith found a mirror and began to fuss around with his uniform. The white tank top he wore was getting thin, but the big red LION’s screen printed on the front was still intact. He should probably get a size bigger, but then his manager might complain about him gaining too much muscle. The shorts were also getting too short, the bottoms of his cheeks hanging out because the fabric rode up his thicker thighs. They wouldn’t fire him, though. Keith was their only male server and an omega. The other omega male washed dishes and only worked two nights a week. 

Usually, a single parent wouldn’t get hired at a place like LION’s. It was all about showing off your assets and flirting with the dine in customers. Keith had been recommended from a girl at his previous job. Compared to that this job was nothing. He never talked about Taylor here. Just a simple ‘School function’ or ‘Doctor’s appointment’ got him the days off he needed. The manager had her guesses, but they had an understanding. 

Keith was like a milkshake, thick and cold. Anyone that came in and said they didn’t like a milkshake was lying. Keith had boxes of lactaids in his car for LION’s milkshakes. He couldn’t resist them himself.

Keith sold a lot of milkshakes. 

“Heads up, the bachelor party is here,” the shift leader said, popping her head into the changing room. 

Keith and the other girl both groaned. 

“Fifty cents says they pregamed,” said the girl. 

“A dollar says I get their table,” Keith countered. 

“You win,” the girl said and went back to her textbook. 

Keith stared at her studiously studying then turned and grabbed his apron. He couldn’t wait for his research gig to start making him enough money to quit this job. 

To Keith’s surprise, the group was neither intoxicated or seated in Keith’s section. A newer hire threw Keith a pitiful look as he stepped onto the floor and glanced at the three tables the party encompassed. Keith rolled his eyes and looked at his own tables. There was only one new customer while the other table had just gotten their order taken before Keith went on break. He walked to the bar just as their order was coming out. 

“Get their drink orders and I’ll help you pass them out,” Keith told his co-worker.

The girl’s face lit up and she grabbed her menus happily skipping over to the table. 

Keith passed out the food to the group of four waiting high school boys and then took the order of the old man who oggled him harmlessly. 

Ogling was fine. Keith knew he was considered attractive even if he didn’t completely understand why. Being looked at appreciatively was better than being looked at like a freak or a monster. 

Keith shook his head of such thoughts and waited for his co-worker to help her carrying the dozens of drinks the party ordered.

“That’s a lot of alcohol,” Keith pointed out. 

“I know, I don’t know why Axca gave me this table, I’m barely old enough to drink myself.”

“That’s probably why,” Keith said and took the platters with the alcohol. “You take the smaller drinks, Florona.” 

Together, they managed to carry the drinks to the large group. They were all dressed in typical fancy club attire, but there was an air of nerdism surrounding them that Keith only knew from his scientist brother and his I.T ex-lovers and best friend. The main man of the hour sat in the middle, a large but robust man who smiled brightly as praise was put on him by his friends. Keith started with his mixed drink pointed out to him by Florona. 

“Here we go, one tequila sunrise for our sunny groom,” Keith said as he passed out the drink. 

“Th-thanks,” the man said. “I’m just...really excited about the wedding tomorrow.”

Keith smiled softly. He had served a few more bachelor parties than he would like to admit and often felt off about the groom to be. This one seemed to truly just be here for a good time with his pals. 

“You must be marrying someone amazing,” Keith said as he passed out more drinks, Florona doing her job with the softer liquids, making sure to smile at each person she handed one to. 

“She is amazing, she’s the most amazing and sweet girl there is.”

“Hunk, dude, you don’t have to gush about Shay all night. Live it up a little,” said one of the guys already downing his beer. “We’ve got two beautiful omegas right in front of us.”

“I’m sure they appreciate someone complimenting their future wife instead of them,” said another voice just as Keith lifted a fancy ass blue drink from his platter. “Oh, that one’s mine.”

Keith turned to the customer just to meet eyes as blue as the drink. He flinched as their hands touched, eyes widening. The man smiled gently and made a place on the table for Keith to put the drink instead of handing it to him. 

Red flushed Keith’s face. Fuck. Well, it wasn’t the first time Keith had someone he knew come in. Families came into this joint after all. It wasn’t a bar, they just happened to have one. Why couldn’t a  _ teacher _ walk in? 

“Mr. McClain, I didn’t expect to see you here so soon in the year,” Keith said in greeting. 

Understanding showed on the man’s face. This wasn’t a secret job, Keith just liked to keep it on the down low so to speak. 

“You can just call me Lance. Is this a second job? Another one was mentioned.”

Taylor had probably said he was a researcher. Which he was. 

“Yes, it is difficult to get out of your old college job sometimes. The extra money helps.”

Lance’s eyes lit up. “Of course. I’ll have to get a second job in the summer most likely. Teacher pay doesn’t start stacking up until later, ya know?”

“Oh, Lancey boy, I didn’t think you knew anyone but us yet,” one of the group said, pulling Lance over to him. “Don’t go flirting with the staff right after you told someone else off.”

Lance’s ears went red. Keith turned his head to hide his laugh. He cleared his throat before addressing the group again, his platters now empty. 

“I do hope you enjoy your meal. I am Keith and I will be around if extra hands are needed,” Keith said starting off cheery before letting the host tone drop to something colder. “Don’t give Florona trouble, I’ll be watching.”

Keith waved to Florona then turned and walked away. 

“Wow, he’s scary.”

“I don’t know, it was kind of hot.”

Keith rolled his eyes and went to greet his newest customer.

The bachelor party turned out to be well behaved if not loud. Florona appeared to get along swimmingly with the group so Keith stopped worrying about her. He was pushed into taking a late lunch when one particular table of regulars just wouldn’t leave. Axca ended up closing the bill for him. Keith wasn’t supposed to flex his muscles in a threatening way, that was the alpha on duty’s job and LION’s only hired female alphas. Still, sometimes he did.

Keith hurried down to the asian food market that was part of the same plaza LIONs was located in and bought some ramen to cook in the breakroom. He hadn’t changed out of his uniform, just grabbed a jacket to cover up the LIONs logo on his tank top. It had been a few years since Keith had cared about people seeing him in more revealing clothes and those in the plaza were used to the LION’s workers’ dress code. When Keith pushed past the first set of doors into LION’s, he was suddenly stopped. 

There was something that forty year old alphas and betas wearing camouflage found attractive in male omegas. Particularly thicker omegas. It was always these graying men who made a personality out of camouflage and country accents that caused Keith problems. Keith had hoped his troublesome table would have left before he got back, but Keith had been waiting for his third hand of bad luck all week and here it was. The group of two betas and an alpha leered at Keith. Keith was shorter than them, but he was sure he could take them in a fight if need came to shove. He’d fought off worse in middle school, though those fights had nothing to do with this kind of assault, he hadn’t presented then.

“Oh, our little ice lion is back just in time,” said the alpha and crowded Keith up against the wall of the entrance. 

“Hey, look, he wears those shorts out. I bet you like people staring at your ass.”

“It’d probably look real good from behind.”

“Back off, he’s mine,” said the alpha and raised one arm up to cage Keith in while his other hand snaked behind Keith to grab his ass. 

Keith could have stopped the touch if he hadn’t been holding his lunch. It made him feel sick to his stomach, neck burning. If he wasn’t at work, he would have kicked the man already. He managed to push himself away, but Keith was still surrounded. 

The bell on the first set of doors rang. Keith turned to see Mr. McClain walk in while hanging up his phone. He cleared his throat and stood tall. At school he had seemed gentle, almost no sign of alpha on him, but now Keith couldn’t help but shiver at the confidence he exuded. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen, but you’re blocking the entrance,” Lance said. 

The betas separated to give Lance room to walk, but the teacher glanced over at Keith and moved closer to him to be out of the way of the other doors. He gestured to them. “After you gentlemen.”

“We’re not done, get lost,” the alpha said. 

“No, I think you are. There’s a no touch policy at this  _ family restaurant _ And I believe you are harassing this waiter while they’re off the clock and not showing the establishment’s logo so they have every right to throw hands. I get the feeling he’s pretty good at it. However, as a  _ proper _ alpha, I couldn’t possibly let an omega go three on one so me and my friends would have to help him. Do you see where this is just all around a bad situation for you?”

The alpha glanced back into LION’s. He clicked his tongue and moved away from Keith. He and his two friends quickly left after that. 

“Fuck, there’s seriously still guys out there like that?” Lance asked watching them leave. 

“Unfortunately, these kinds of places attract all sorts of assholes,” Keith answered, “but thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem, Kogane.”

“I…” Keith froze. His heart started beating faster and he looked Lance up and down. “What did you call me just now?”

A smirk pulled at Lance’s lips and he crossed his arms as if he had discovered something. “Your name used to be Kogane, right?”

His name was still Kogane, but usually everyone went by his second last name, Shirogane. It was his adopted parents’ last name, also his brother’s and daughters. 

“Did you go by another name?” Keith asked. 

Lance’s smirk turned into a frown. “No, I’ve always been Lance McClain.”

Keith felt disappointed, but also relieved. “Oh, I’m not who you think I am then. You’re the first McClain I’ve met.”

Lance let his arms lower. “I...yeah, you’re probably right. You have a third grader, the math’s not right anyways. Uh...should I ignore what just happened?”

“It happens, I’ve just had bad luck all week. It’s not like this is a secret. I get a lot of the high school coaches coming in and then some of the students get dragged along with their parents or older siblings. I have to say, you are the first of Taylor’s teachers to see me like this. If you come by again, keep that part under the radar. Single parents aren’t exactly attractive.”

Lance was instantly back to grinning. He even winked at Keith. Keith rolled his eyes and ignored the flush he felt on his neck. Not many people were Keith’s type, but his daughter’s teacher just had to fall so very close to it. 

“You got it. I can be totally professional. But, for the record, that last statement isn’t true.”

“Is it professional to so obviously flirt with me,” Keith pointed out. 

Lance held up a finger and moved to the second set of doors. He opened it for Keith and gestured for him to walk through. “After you, Kitten.”

Keith swallowed hard and hurried past Lance back inside the restaurant. 

“See, that’s flirting,” Lance called behind him. 

🧵

“Taylor, why is there a full bowl of mac n’ cheese in the sink?” Keith asked. He’d left his room while deep in research one of the professors wanted by tomorrow morning to get a drink from the kitchen only to find the meal he’d made being soaked by their leaky kitchen faucet.

Taylor sat slumped on the couch with her bottom lip pressed out, eyes focused on the screen where a cat video compilation was playing. “Your cooking sucks.”

Sucks? New word picked up. “My cooking doesn’t suck and that was from a box. You should have put it in the fridge if you didn’t want it.”

It wasn’t the first time Keith had fed his daughter this meal, but it was the lactose free brand that Keith avoided eating himself. Perhaps she’d developed a distaste for it, too. She wasn’t lactose intolerant, but neither was Keith at that age or so he thought. He ate whatever his single firefighter father could afford. The food wasn’t always any better for him after he went into foster care. 

“What do you want? It’s not too late for dinner. A sandwich?”

“No, I’m watching television,” Taylor said, keeping her focus on the television. 

“Do you want an apple sauce pouch? You can eat that on the couch?”

“No.”

“What do you want?”

Taylor finally turned her head and looked at Keith. She furrowed her brows. “I want you to leave me alone.”

Keith’s chest tightened. He turned his head away for a moment and stared up at the ceiling. Becoming a parent had truly calmed Keith’s temper over the years, but the older Taylor got the more Keith’s instincts to fight anyone who made him uncomfortable kicked in. 

“Why?” Keith asked with forced calmness. 

“You’re annoying, go back to work.”

Keith closed his eyes and clamped his fingers on his nose. He had barely bothered Taylor today. It was Sunday for god’s sake!

“Doll, explain yourself right now. Is this about last week?”

Taylor scoffed. “I don’t know, is it? What did you do last week?”

He had forgotten Taylor at home on her first day of third grade, but she said she wasn’t angry about that. Other than that, Keith had only made the usual small mistakes which only he noticed. 

“I thought we talked about monday already.”

“No, I’m not talking about monday!” Taylor yelled. 

Keith felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he shifted away. His voice dipped lower as his defensive instincts took over. “Taylor Kro Shirogane, don’t raise your voice at me.”

Taylor immediately stood up from the couch. She stared blankly at the television until her eyes watered and then she was running off to her room. 

Keith didn’t follow. He heard his little girl’s door slam shut and felt his own face heat up with guilt. He hadn’t meant for it to sound like a growl. There was a high probability Taylor would be an alpha. Her father had been as was Keith’s birth mother. It made her sensitive to Keith’s defensiveness. She was good at not taking Keith’s mistakes too seriously, too good. She was only a child. Keith didn’t like that his daughter had to be so aware of her father’s emotions. 

“Fuck.”

Keith moved to the couch and sat down. He groaned as he felt something hard poke into his ass and pulled out a hand sized, handmade stuffed lion. Keith fingers caressed the v-shaped logo on its chest with the word ‘Veradero’ written underneath it. He then moved to pet it’s head. 

The fabric had started thinning. There were already stitches covering the toy’s body. The stuffed animal was only about six years old, but the material itself was at least ten. Keith had stolen it from Taylor’s father. He had worn it all throughout his pregnancy and kept it in his nest during his heats. Eventually, Taylor got attached to it before she could truly understand that it was the only thing of her alpha father Keith had. The hoodie eventually met its end as a wearable garment when Taylor had swung it too near a candle and burned a large hole into the back. Keith’s adopted mother had then turned it into a small blue lion. 

Taylor loved this lion. She used to take it everywhere with her until she accidentally left it at school once in first grade. Now she just carried it around the house. 

Keith stood up and walked to his daughter’s door. He knocked then waited. Taylor didn’t answer. That was fine, Keith could wait. He slid to the floor with his back against the door and made the little lion dance on his knee. He gasped when the door was suddenly opened and he fell backwards. 

“What do you want?” Taylor asked, staring down at her father with red rimmed eyes. Her tanned cheeks were stained with tears and it broke Keith’s heart. 

Keith held up the lion. “You forgot him.”

Taylor stared at the toy for a moment before taking it. She held it close and looked embarrassed then unsure. Keith tried getting up only to find his daughter in his arms again hugging him tightly. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Daddy.”

Keith held his daughter tight and kissed her hair. “No, no, it’s my fault, Doll. Don’t apologize to me. What’s wrong? Tell me, please.”

Taylor hid her face in Keith’s shirt. The tips of her ears were red. “I...you said you would watch movies with me this weekend. You said we could have popcorn and watch movies.” 

Had Keith? Probably in passing. Just a thought to feel like he was being an actual parent. Usually Taylor didn’t pay attention to his ramblings unless it was something she actually wanted to do. Had she reminded him? He must have had earphones in. It was a habit Keith had developed in middle school and couldn’t get rid of. Shiro had gotten him wireless ones last christmas and they had caused many miscommunication problems between his daughter and him. She was used to physically getting his attention when he had visible headphones in. 

“I’m so sorry, Doll. We can do that now.”

Taylor shook her head. “You’re working.”

“No I’m not. Go wash up for bed and I’ll make popcorn and get the tablet.”

Taylor finally pulled away and went to her pajama drawer to change her clothes. Keith sat up and headed to the kitchen. He did have a lot of work to do still, but he had all night. He had always promised himself he would put his daughter’s needs first. 


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 2!
> 
> hope you enjoy

**Chapter 2**

  
  
  


A decade ago, Keith saw Taylor’s father for the first time. Keith was taking his last half credit of gym and shared that first semester with the freshman boy. They only exchanged a few words at the beginning of the semester, mostly heated arguments. Most of Keith’s conversations with peers were arguments, though. But, when they were paired up, Keith thought it was actually fun. 

After that, Keith only saw the boy in passing. 

Mc...something had been his last name. Over the years Keith lost confidence he actually knew it. It was a name that didn’t match the young alpha who was very obviously latin. And friendly. Overly so. As Keith pushed his way through crowded halls, he saw this boy and how bright his blue eyes were talking with his friends, but also how sad they looked when one of his pickup lines were ignored or a joke fell flat. He was so eager to please, the complete opposite of Keith. 

Winter break after his semester of gym class was over, Keith presented as omega. 

It wasn’t until after May, when Keith had officially passed his sophomore year classes, that he realized he had fallen in love with the freshman from gym. 

The start of Keith’s junior year was when he learned the boy’s first name. Usually, Keith blasted music in his ears while walking through the halls, sometimes an audiobook, and thought of the people he passed as nothing more than objects blocking his way from one seat to another. One day, his cheap headphones died in the middle of walking the halls and he hadn’t brought another pair. That was when he heard the boy’s voice. 

“Oh, don’t worry baby. They call me the ‘Taylor’ because of how I thread the needle,” he said to a group of girls. 

The girls gave each other looks then turned and headed away without responding. The boy stared after them blinking as he came to terms with being blown off. Keith stared at him. 

Taylor...oh, like a tailor. That was funny. 

‘Taylor’s’ eyes met Keith’s. Keith hadn’t realized he had laughed. He gave this Taylor one amused look before hurrying to class. 

Keith had never planned on dating ‘Taylor’. He was sure the boy would eventually find a girlfriend. Besides, who would want to date Keith? Who would want to date an orphan?

Keith had been about three when his mother disappeared. His father used to joke that she was a spy from another country who got caught. For all Keith knew his father was right. As for his father, he was a firefighter, but he was never found inside the last building he ran into. It made his jokes concerning his mother far more plausible. Either way, Keith was left alone at 11 just as he was finishing fifth grade. He began to jump around the state between foster parents. When he became a freshman in high school, he finally settled into one. They weren’t a good family, but they also let Keith do as he pleased as long as he wasn’t in their house. He was given a small allowance and a pantry was set aside for all their foster children to take from. The problem was there was an alpha middle schooler Keith didn’t trust so he rarely stayed there. When he presented, his foster parents gave him a key to a room with a single window and plenty of sheets, six locks that could only be done from the inside on the door. Usually, the room was a guest room. Keith always locked it before his heat and then snuck out of the window to spend his heats out in the forest behind the school where he had slowly begun to build a little shack. 

Earlier that spring, Keith had met the Shiroganes. They were an older couple with one child, a beta son who was already in college. Keith adored him. He just went by Shiro. His parents had had difficulty even having him and so he was born with a right arm that needed amputating, but the Shirogane’s had even cooler friends. They built Shiro a bionic arm and how could a loner, but nerdy high schooler not find that amazing. 

Keith hadn’t meant to leave an impression on the family, but, just after he started his junior year, Keith was handed paperwork and told his final hearing would be in october. Then, he would be a Shirogane. 

The Shiroganes lived in the next county in a large city on the farthest end of it. 

Blaming it on omega hormones was unfair. After knowing he would have to leave soon, Keith pined after his first love so hard it made his heats go weird. Or maybe it was just the stress. Either way, he remembered getting in a fight with the alpha staying at his foster home. He had called Keith many slurs. His foster parents only backed Keith up because he was getting adopted. Older omegas were difficult to adopt out. 

Parents dropping so much money on a child didn’t want ‘used goods’. It was disgusting. 

Honestly, it was too much and when it was too much, Keith made bad decisions. 

If Keith was getting adopted under the stigma of used goods, he might as well become that. 

The thing was, Keith was in love and had only one boy in mind he wanted to fuck. Maybe the argument was just an excuse to finally talk to ‘Taylor’ Mcsomething. 

So, Keith did. 

Monday on homecoming week, Keith found ‘Taylor’ where he always did and caged him in. 

The sophomore looked at Keith with large blue eyes like a frightened puppy. “Um...I don’t have any money. Also, I have siblings that go here so beating me up isn’t a good idea.”

“I want to go to your house,” Keith said. He mentally kicked himself. That wasn’t how he meant to start this.

“Um, why?” ‘Taylor’ asked. 

Keith took in a deep breath. “I like you and I want to hang out.”

The boy immediately blushed. He tried to stand straight and look confident, but he wouldn’t even look at Keith. “Oh, really? So like, you’re asking to be my boyfriend or something? I mean, I know I’m amazing and all…”

“You are, you’re amazing,” Keith agreed and ‘Taylor’s’ words stopped. 

“I...yeah okay. I don’t have club today if you want. Oh, but no one else will be home I think, not until like seven.”

Keith shrugged and moved back, but he felt heat on his neck. “Okay, cool, I’ll meet you here after school.”

They met at that spot and walked in silence off school grounds. Keith offered the boy an earphone and the boy offered his hand. ‘Taylor’ didn’t live far from school and walked everyday, Keith learned as they came upon a decent sized house painted the brightest of blues with a gray cat greeting them as soon as they entered the door. 

‘Taylor’ led Keith to his bedroom. He was nervous as he offered Keith a drink and snacks then sat down and pulled out video games because homework would be boring and unproductive when they were in different grades. Keith didn’t have homework anyways, or at least any he felt like doing. But, Keith was nervous, too. He just showed it by barely talking. 

It was some time after Keith’s third win at the car racing game (he knew how to drive in real life how hard could games be) that Keith remembered his bad idea. He put his controller down and turned to ‘Taylor’. 

“Oh, did you want to play something else?”

Keith nodded and moved to sit in the boy’s lap. 

“Oh,...oh, uh...what’s happening right now?” ‘Taylor’ asked. 

“Sex?” Keith replied, but left it as a question. 

“Right, well, um…”

“If you don’t want to, that’s okay,” Keith assured. 

‘Taylor’ shook his head and reached out to grab Keith’s hips. “Not what I meant at all. Like my dick went hard the moment you climbed onto my lap. Sorry, that was too much information.”

Keith chuckled. “I have one, too. I get it. If you’re willing, so am I.”

The boy nodded and began to look everywhere but at Keith. “Okay. Okay, okay, okay. Really hot junior currently in my lap offering sex. Fuck. Wait, am I bottom?”

Keith laughed again and shook his head. “Unless you want anal.”

‘Taylor’s’ eyes lit up with understanding. He then lifted a finger and pointed towards a blue hoodie he’d thrown on his bed when they’d entered his room. He wore the hoodie often, Keith remembered. 

“I have a condom.”

Keith let the boy move from him and watched with a fluttering in his heart as his crush struggled to get his wallet out of his hoodie then the little condom package out of his wallet. 

God, this boy was a dork and he loved him. Ignoring anything else, that was the only reason the next events actually happened. 

Keith moved over to the boy and kissed him. They kissed for a good while before Keith undressed himself and laid himself on the other boy’s bed. He was bare and vulnerable and maybe that showed in his scent. 

“Omega,” ‘Taylor said, his nerves suddenly shifting into something soft and concerned. It wasn’t the scary face Keith thought alpha’s would have when instincts kicked in. 

Keith wouldn’t say that his first time was heaven, but it was something he held precious. It became very obvious they were both virgins, but they were both hungry for each other. By the time they stopped, it was dark outside. Keith wasn’t sure how many times he had cum, but he knew it was a lot of give and take and his legs felt weak. 

Someone had come home during the last round, too, and played music loudly. 

“I can’t go again,” ‘Taylor said. 

Keith nodded and sat up. He really was sore. The music suddenly stopped as ‘Taylor’ pulled his pants on and then there were footsteps. Keith had that blue hoodie thrown at him and then the boy he’d just had sex with left his room to distract whoever was heading their way. 

It was embarrassing. Keith understood that, so he put on the hoodie and his pants and grabbed the rest of his stuff before sneaking out of the bedroom window. 

They didn’t talk to each other much over the next couple days. Sometimes their eyes met and Keith would nod with a small smile. The other boy’s eyes would light up, but then someone would distract him and Keith would be gone. It was Thursday by the time Keith was cornered. 

“I want to take my boyfriend to homecoming, how about it?” ‘Taylor’ asked. 

Keith pointed at himself. “Me?”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Yes, you, unless I read this whole thing wrong. Either way, date?”

“When is it?” Keith asked. 

‘Taylor’ scoffed. “Really? Tomorrow night after the game.”

Keith shifted his feet. “Okay, can I meet you there? I’ll probably be late.”

“Yeah, totally. I’ll be wearing blue.”

Keith was very late to the dance. He had never been to one and didn’t bother dressing properly for it. He snuck in through a back door and caught his boyfriend’s arm. They ended up dancing with their tongues in a back hall. Someone Keith thought was his boyfriend’s brother gave them information about an after party that Keith agreed to go to only because he felt warm and didn’t want to think of words. But, he also felt cold and stayed close to his boyfriend throughout the short interactions they had upon arriving. 

Someone had given Keith alcohol and it wasn’t ‘Taylor’. He had also been given alcohol by the host and was pressured into drinking it. It wasn’t far after their arrival they stumbled into a closet drunk and horny. 

Many people made bad decisions that night. 

Keith woke up with only blurred memories of animalistic fucking with his boyfriend flashing through his mind. He got dressed with not just a hangover, but a familiar haze still feeling both warm and cold. It wasn’t until after he had broken into the school shower that he realized how sore he was in his more intimate parts. He remembered being knotted. He remembered asking for it. He remembered a mention of condoms and he’d seen an open package on the floor. However, as Keith cleaned himself out, he was sure it was not just slick that had dried inside him. 

For the next three days, Keith stayed in his forest shack waiting for the heat he had been expecting last week. He skipped school the rest of the week in preparation of his court hearing.

It wasn’t until Keith was officially declared a Shirogane that he felt guilty. 

As Keith packed up the few measly things he owned only hours later, he realized the last time he would see his boyfriend, his first love and lover, was on the floor of a closet in a high school party, drunk naked and asleep with their filth surrounding them. 

That was the start of October right before Keith turned seventeen. 

Three months later, after Keith went all winter break feeling sick to his stomach, the Shiroganes learned they hadn’t only adopted a son, but their first grandchild.

And so Keith became a teen mom. 

🧵

“Shiro, are you serious? How in the hell did you get the dates mixed up?” Keith growled into his headphone mic. He had just finished his run around the apartment building as he did every Friday afternoon if he worked late and was headed to the mailboxes on the first floor. His brother had called just before he’d entered the building. 

“You’re the one who told me the wrong dates. Next week is the high school’s first game. I thought you were talking about that,” Shiro argued. 

Keith rolled his eyes. “Fuck, Shiro, you know I don’t know shit about football or sports periods. I just said what the manager told me. ‘Big Game’. Lots of customers.”

“I’m really sorry, Keith, but I’m already out of town. You’ll have to call in or ask mom and dad.”

“You know I can’t...I can’t do either of those things.”

Shiro sighed on the other line. “And it’s stupid. I have to fight you to let me help. Mom would be delighted to see Taylor. You only visit them once a month and most of the time you don’t even go, it’s me taking Taylor while I babysit.”

Keith fumbled with his mailbox door. It was complicated seeing the Shiroganes. Sure, they were Keith’s parents by law and they had acted as much as parents as Keith remembered his father doing, but Keith just…

He felt guilty. 

There was no way Keith would keep their grandchild away from the Shiroganes. However, Keith’s pregnancy had caused them so many problems. First, there were the social workers. Keith had to make it sound like he had been fucking around before the adoption so they would leave him alone. Then, he had to make a decision. He was past three months so ending the pregnancy wasn’t something Keith was keen on doing. It was mostly his fault this had happened so he would take responsibility. He was also stupidly still in love with his baby’s father. 

There was adoption. He thought about asking the Shiroganes to adopt her and then he would just completely disappear from their lives as soon as he was eighteen. He could give these nice people a child worthy of them. Honestly, they would have taken Keith up on it, but they also wouldn’t have let Keith go so easily, Keith knew that now. 

The more Keith thought about adoption, the more Keith couldn’t do it. The baby’s father could do nothing if he gave up the baby, but Keith knew what being an orphan felt like. 

The Shiroganes were all too supportive. Any decision, they were there, Shiro, too. Disappointed, yes they were, but they only showed Keith love. Shiro was more angry than either of his parents and Keith just latched onto his beta brother more. 

Still, when Taylor was born, Keith promised as soon as he graduated high school and went off to college, he wouldn’t rely on his adopted parents. They gave him and Taylor everything they needed. It took Keith an extra year to graduate since being pregnant the second half of his junior year took down his grades hard, but he managed it. College took him a while, too, but he managed that. 

He managed it all on his own. 

Except, Shiro had been there. Only Shiro. And his adopted parents when Keith calculated he needed to see them. It was normal to see grandparents. 

No, Keith couldn’t spring this on them last minute. Plus, he had work in two hours and it would be cutting it close to drive to their house in the next city over. 

“Fuck, Shiro, I can’t call in,” Keith whined. 

LION’s really needed him this weekend. They had multiple reservations and the other omega male had just quit because his school work was getting to be too much. And Axca, their only alpha shift leader, was off and out of town all week. Keith was the only muscle around to help the newer girls other than the cook. They definitely could fend for themselves, but Keith was willing to get fired for punching a customer. That was worth it. 

“Sorry, Keith, I really don’t know what to tell you. I have to go now, I’m on the road.”

Keith hung up the call angrily and kicked the painted brick beneath the mailboxes. 

A muffled voice made Keith furrow his brows. Then there was a tug on his jacket sleeve and Keith turned his head. He was glad he hadn’t gone for his water bottle yet because Keith would have absolutely spit it all out upon seeing who stood beside him. 

Mr. McClain gestured towards his ears then to Keith. Keith pulled out an ear bud still wondering what the fuck his daughter’s teacher was doing in his apartment building. Actually, he didn’t look like a teacher, he looked like your typical bro dude in their mid twenties in sweat pants and a jacket. He wasn’t wearing his glasses and his hair was sticking up and a bit wet. He must have just finished his shower after getting home from school. 

“You still wear earphones to ignore everyone else, I see,” Lance said. 

“What?” Keith asked, confused. Well, the teacher wasn’t wrong. Still, Keith took a step back and looked Lance up and down. 

Not the same guy, but goddamnit!

Lance rolled his eyes. “Nevermind that. I, uh, did you need help?”

Keith squinted at the teacher. “Excuse me? I...why are you here?”

Lance’s eyes widened and he held up a finger. “Right, we should start with that first. I live here. It seems you do, too.” The teacher waved his handful of mail at Keith. 

“Since when?” Keith asked. 

“Ah, a few days ago. I wasn’t allowed to move in until September because they were having a hard time moving the last renters out. I’ve been staying with a friend.”

Keith took a step back and crossed his arms. “Which apartment?”

Lance grinned. “Four-twelve.” 

Keith was three-o-eight. “You live one floor up. Those are smaller apartments.”

Lance shrugged. “Temporary place. I want to buy a house and start a family. All that jazz.” 

Keith nodded satisfied his daughter’s teacher, who maybe had been flirting with him since the day they met, wasn’t a stalker. 

“But, onto the main point. Do you need a babysitter?” Lance asked. 

Keith sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be loud about it. My brother had a work conference this week, but LION’s really needs me to work and it’s overtime pay.”

Lance whistled. “Yeah, overtime pay is hard to give up. No one else can babysit?”

“Not so last moment.” Keith stared at his shoes. He’d have to call in. It might get him fired. Well, if it was only for tonight then it would be fine, but what about tomorrow and Sunday?

“How about me?”

Keith gave the teacher a skeptical look. “Why are you offering?”

“Right, I’m a stranger, but I’m your neighbor.”

Keith shook his head. He’d never let a neighbor watch Taylor. Even right now, Taylor was alone in the apartment and that made Keith nervous, but he knew she was just watching television and Keith’s run was only around their building a few times. She could keep track of him and vice versa for the thirty minutes he was out. 

“Okay, then consider the fact I’m Taylor’s teacher. She knows me already and I’m entrusted with lots of children.”

Keith wrinkled his nose. That did make sense. Lance would have to watch Taylor if Keith or Shiro was running late. “Aren’t you busy?”

Lance shrugged. “Not really. I don’t have anything but school stuff to do this weekend. If I can grade and watch twenty students, I can prep and watch one of the quieter ones. Taylor’s cool.”

Ah, that wasn’t fair. 

“She is,” Keith agreed. Fuck, he didn’t want to have to rely on an alpha, but he was a teacher. “I can’t let you into our apartment, though.”

Lance stuffed his hands into his pockets, his mail crumbings as he did like he’d forgotten he was holding it. “Yeah, yeah, of course. I’m an alpha, I won’t intrude. She can come to my place. You know where I work, you know where I live, and I’m pretty sure the Florona girl at work got one of my buddy’s numbers. Safety first.”

“Why are you so persistent?” Keith asked. 

“I want to help,” Lance said and shrugged. “Look, I get it, I’m a male alpha you don’t know well which is why I’m offering to do this however you feel comfortable doing it. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. But, if you need help, I want to help you. I became a teacher because I wanted to help children but that also means helping out their parents sometimes. I happen to live in the same apartment building as you, so in the case of an emergency, as a teacher, I want to be considered as a trustworthy source to go to.”

That all made way too much sense. “Have you ever babysitted before, Mr. McClain? It’s different from teaching.”

Lance grinned. “Yep. I have nephews and nieces. Also, I...uh...I was...my last serious partner had a daughter.” 

Oh.

Oh!

Keith felt his cheeks reddened. That meant this guy was opened to dating single parents. 

No, wait. What?

Keith shook his head. “Fine.”

The teacher’s grin grew bigger. “Great.”

“Wait, wait, let me ask Taylor about it first, you’re her teacher.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course! Let me give you my number.” Lance handed Keith his phone. 

Keith texted his own phone. It was probably a good idea to have Taylor’s teacher’s number anyways. “I actually need a babysitter all weekend starting in an hour.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “Oh, totally. I’ll go clean up. Just drop by in an hour if it’s a go, text me if not.”

Keith watched as Lance McClain walked away and towards the elevators, doing so backwards. He almost tripped over a teenager skating by in the building. Keith turned his head so no one would see him laugh. 

What a weirdo. 

Still. 

Keith gathered his mail and hurried up to Taylor. The little girl had snuck a bowl of cereal while Keith was out and was eating away while watching more cat videos. 

“When’s Uncle Shiro coming to pick me up?”

Keith sighed. “He’s out of town.”

Taylor turned to look at Keith. “Dad, are you not going to work tonight?”

Keith moved to sit on the coffee table so he could face Taylor. “Actually, Doll, I ran into your teacher downstairs.”

Taylor’s face scrunched up. “Mrs. Lester is a liar.”

Keith raised a brow. “What..I...we’ll talk about that later. No, your homeroom teacher.”

“Mr. McClain? Oh, why?”

“Well, he moved in a couple of days ago, it seems.”

“Ew, neighbor teacher.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s a good thing he’s here. Mr. McClain offered to watch you this weekend while I work.”

Taylor scrunched up her face again. It was a different look, though. Keith wasn’t sure if she wasn’t trying to hide excitement or show disgust. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Is he going to make me do more homework?”

“I don’t think so. Maybe he’ll watch a documentary with you.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “You do that already. Okay. Mr. McClain is cool.”

“Really?” Keith asked, suddenly wanting to pry. He hadn’t thought school had gone on long enough for Taylor to have an opinion on her teachers, but she was definitely better with people than Keith ever was even at this age. “Do you like Mr. McClain?”

“Yeah. He’s kind of stupid, though, like you.”

Keith’s face fell. “Taylor, that’s not a nice word.”

Taylor waived her spoon around. “No, like, silly. He drops things a lot. Mistakes. He makes a lot of little mistakes like you do. It’s funny.”

Oh god. Was he supposed to find this teacher charming knowing he made little mistakes or be offended his daughter found entertainment in Keith’s own mistakes. 

“Also,” Taylor continued, “he’s just...fun. Silly. He’s a silly man. I like him.”

Keith lowered his head and covered his face. 

Those looks, a doofus, and he had already won Taylor over? Keith was fucked if Shiro ever met this man. He wouldn’t leave Keith alone. 

“Daddy?”

Keith cleared his throat and smiled at his daughter. He reached out and stroked her loose black hair. A bit of it stuck out in tuffs like Keith’s. “Finish your cereal and get your bag ready while I shower. He’s only one floor up.”

“Okay,” Taylor agreed and then she was back to staring at cat videos and eating cereal

🧵

It was hard to keep Keith’s mind on the road as he made his way home after work. Having a week full of reservations was hard, even harder when most of the customers were alphas and workers omegas. They were required to have one non-omega on schedule, but that didn’t always mean that person came in. There were problems with LION’s, but Keith had relied on the job for so long he couldn’t leave his younger co-workers to suffer. 

On the elevator, Keith hit the button for the third floor before remembering Shiro didn’t have Taylor. He pressed four and stared at his reflection in the closing elevator door. He was a mess and probably smelled like fried food and a dozen other alphas. Luckily, no one had spilled beer on him that night. He wondered if it would offend Lance, but he had sprayed himself down in his car like he did everyday. He also had a smell diffuser on his air con. Taylor never liked the smell of unfamiliar alphas on Keith. 

“Why do I even care,” Keith muttered to himself. He wore skinny jeans and flannels if he wasn’t in gym clothes. His jacket was enough to cover. 

Four-twelve. Four-twelve. Keith walked off the elevator and followed the doors down to the one he had only for the first time that afternoon. It was already midnight. Usually, Keith would just let Shiro keep Taylor and he’d hang around Shiro’s house in the morning before heading off to work again. He couldn’t leave Taylor here though. 

He knocked. 

There were soft footfalls and then the door suddenly opened. Lance peeked at him rubbing sleep from his eyes and it was awfully cute. 

“Sorry it’s late,” Keith said. 

Lance shook his head and waved Keith in. “No, no, you’re fine. I’m not usually asleep by now unless it’s a weekday. How was work?”

“Let’s just say, I’m glad today was a short shift.”

Keith stepped in and followed Lance to his living room. The alpha’s apartment was very contemporary and minimalist with lots of grays and blue. A bachelor’s pad no doubt, but homey. The couch was big and comfy, though, and Taylor was passed out on it snuggled up in soft looking blankets. There was an indent on the farthest part of the couch where her feet were as if they had been laying on a lap. Keith couldn’t help but smile. 

“Sleeping like an angel,” Lance said softly and led Keith to his kitchen. 

The kitchen was small. Lance pulled down two cups and opened a fridge littered with pictures that looked to be drawn by children as well as a few photos. Keith only got a good look at one with a gray cat. 

“You have a cat?”

“My family has a cat,” Lance said. “She’s a sweetie.” 

The alpha poured water into the two cups then handed one to Keith and drank the other. Keith stared at the water for a moment then sipped it. 

“Taylor would have played with it if it was here. Shiro also has a cat. Maybe I’ll get her one when she’s older. Or one of those big fluffy dogs.”

Lance chuckled and took another sip of his drink. “Yeah, cats are good. I got my ex one after she had her baby and it guarded that little girl with its life.”

Keith frowned. “You mentioned having dated a single mother before.”

Lance raised a brow. “Oh, you’re interested in hearing about it? It’s not a long story. I…”

There was a heavy pause. Keith looked at Lance, but the teacher was looking him up and down again with a bit of a pained expression. He sighed, though, and continued. 

“That part doesn’t matter. Basically, a new student moved in from overseas and I followed her around like a puppy even though she was in a long distance relationship. We became good friends, actually, and went to the same university together. She went back to her country during winter break my freshman year. She was a year older. When she came back, she had just broken up with her boyfriend because he was in jail for some kind of business scheme his family was doing, I’m not sure on the specifics. But, she was also pregnant. Stupidly, I waited on her hand and foot through the whole thing and three months after she had her daughter, she agreed to date me.”

Keith frowned. “You helped raise someone else’s baby while you were in college?”

Lance lifted his glass in a cheers motion. “Sounds stupid, but I thought I was in love. And, more than that, she was my friend. I would have helped her no matter what.” 

“I...don’t think it’s stupid. I was a single parent in college, too, but I was on my own.”

“Yeah, but I should have just stayed Allura’s friend. That’s her name. I let her walk all over me. My grades suffered, my relationship with my family and friends suffered. But, I one hundred percent loved that little girl.”

Keith glanced over at Taylor in the living room and sighed. Having a partner would have been nice but Keith’s conscious would have never let someone else in like that. That homecoming dance was the last proper date he’d had. 

“Do you still get to see her?” Keith asked. 

Lance shook his head. “The real father got out of jail. He came from a rich family as did Allura. He...It wasn’t an aggressive thing. He called her and texted her and sent her flowers. We broke up because she felt guilty about it and then she eventually transferred back to her country. We don’t keep in touch anymore. That was around two years ago.”

“You can’t do anything about it?” Keith asked. 

“No, I have no rights. Besides, I put my feelings on her. Some of them were really selfish. But, I’ve always wanted to be a dad. Which brings me to my point.”

Keith leaned against the fridge realizing he was still wearing his work shorts. He’d forgotten since Lance hadn’t taken that many glances down. 

“And that would be?”

“This thing with me helping out, if you feel like I’m overstepping boundaries, tell me. She’s my student, and you’re my neighbor, and I like helping. That’s all it’s really about.”

“And not that I’m a hot dilf?” Keith said, raising a brow. 

“H-hey! I...come on, Keith,” Lance whined making strained motions with his hands. “You are, but...like...just tell me if I’m being a jerk.”

Keith turned his head away and sipped on the water more. He must be tired if he was willing to tease an alpha in his home. 

“But, seriously. I was afraid Allura’s boyfriend would send an assassins when I realized how rich he actually was. And Allura was another alpha, not an omega. You have to tell me if I start getting in the way of whatever deal you have with Taylor’s other dad, too. Or if you need help with him.”

Keith’s face reddened. “Oh, that’s not an issue. There isn’t...um...She’s never met him. Uh, no one has.”

“Right, that’s probably prying, sorry.”

Keith shook his head. “I was a minor.”

Lance’s eyes widened then he blushed and turned away. “I won’t ask about it then. Ah...wait...I thought maybe you were just young for your age. Are we the same age?”

“Probably,” Keith answered. “I’ll be 26 soon.”

“Oh, I just turned 24 before school started.”

Keith squinted at Lance. That...what? No. “Interesting.”

Lance put his glass in the sink and pushed passed Keith avoiding his eyes. “Yeah...yeah it is. Hey, should I help you carry Taylor or do you want to wake her up?”


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a chapter, yes

**Chapter 3**

  
  
  


“You’re telling me you left Taylor with a strange alpha all weekend and you’re doing it again this weekend? I said I could watch her,” Shiro said, his eyes watching Keith from Keith’s phone as he washed dishes over video call. 

“I told you it was fine. I only need Saturday this week and you already got the dates confused. She's going to go to her grandparents the next weekend anyways. You should be glad to have a break before the holidays hit.”

“I don’t need a break. I would have a kid of my own if any of my relationships ever worked out. You don’t get a break from that.”

Keith scrubbed at a stubborn stain on Taylor’s favorite plate. “Just marry Matt then, you two have been best friends for years.”

“He’s an omega.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Yeah, who only dates beta females, I know your argument, I was just suggesting it to you.”

“And I suggest you start dating yourself if we’re going on that subject.”

“Taylor doesn’t need another father,” Keith complained. 

“That’s not it, Keith, and you know it. I just think it’s time to move on and maybe messing around in a  _ healthy _ fashion would help with that. You don’t have to get mated, but go on a few dates. Taylor is getting older and will be able to take care of herself soon.”

Keith rinsed the plate off. “I never wanted to mess around in the first place, things just happen. Besides, it’s her teacher babysitting. If he’s willing to watch her after this weekend, I’ll start paying him.”

Shiro raised a brow. 

Keith scoffed. “In money, Shiro.”

His brother squinted his eyes then grinned. “Wait, do you maybe like this teacher? Are you actually already talking to someone and just keeping it a secret from me?”

Keith shook his head. “Of course not! He’s Taylor’s teacher! I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not, just frowned upon.”

Keith’s phone started ringing, a little notification popping up with the number of Taylor’s school. “Shiro, I have to go, the school’s calling.”

“Oh, yeah, bye!”

Keith hung up on his brother and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Oh, Ke-Mr. Shirogane, uh, this is Mr. McClain. Would you be able to come to the school and pick up Taylor?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. What happened?”

“Well, we were having group activities when Taylor...um...she got in a fight. Could you actually come down for a bit?”

A fight? “Fuck….I mean….shit...I mean…”

Lance chuckled. “It’s alright, take a minute and breath then come to the school, Keith. Taylor’s not hurt.”

“Thanks, I’ll hurry over.”

Keith hung up and leaned against the sink taking in deep breaths. A fight? A fight! Keith hadn’t started fights until middle school. What had he done wrong to have Taylor starting in third grade. And it didn’t sound like shoving. Taylor had gotten marks for shoving or arguing with children she didn’t get along with, but this sounded serious. 

Keith tried his best to look presentable while still hurrying to the school. The receptionist told him Mr. McClain was waiting for him in one of the computer rooms and he hurried down the halls. When he opened the door, Keith was thankful to see a little old lady sitting beside a boy with a red splotchy face. He had seen two boys in Taylor’s class he knew she didn’t like and one of them had parents that frequented his work who he always wanted to punch and had dumped a few glasses of water on, at least the father, when passing each other by the bathrooms. The other one was a follower who Keith understood a little more as he only had his grandmother to watch over him. And she liked Keith. 

However, Mr. McClain wasn’t the only teacher in the room. It wasn’t surprising, but it just had to be the technology teacher that thought she was better than everyone else because she was blonde and petite and an omega with a husband she’d dated since high school. And she was going to get pregnant soon and start her perfect little family in a proper way. It disgusted Keith. Her husband came to LION’s every Thursday with his friends. He was actually pretty respectable, but his friends were diptshits. 

Keith entered slowly and moved over to where Taylor sat with crossed arms next to Lance kicking her feet that didn’t reach the floor. Keith could have sworn Taylor was tall enough for grown up chairs. 

“You took your time,” said the lady teacher. 

“I came as quickly as I could, Mrs. Lester. I was cleaning.”

The teacher rolled her eyes and held her head higher. 

“What Mrs. Lester means is this is a bit of a serious matter so we’re thankful you came as fast as you did. Johnny’s grandmother happens to live nearby so she got here first.”

Keith turned to the little old lady. He bowed his head to her. “I apologize.”

The old woman waved a hand. “It isn’t your fault, Keith, darling. My grandson deserved it.”

Keith turned and stared Taylor down. “What did you do?”

“I kicked him,” Taylor said and turned her head away. 

Keith narrowed his eyes. “Where did you kick him?”

“Keith, this isn’t just about kicking,” Mrs. Lester said. “This is as serious as sexual harassment.”

“No it’s not, Mrs. Lester,” Mr. McClain corrected. 

“Taylor, where?”

“In his…” Taylor glanced up at Keith then at her teachers and sighed. Her next word was whispered. “Balls.””

Keith took in a deep breath then sighed. “Why?”

“He...pissed me off.”

“Language.”

“He was rude to me,” Taylor corrected. 

Keith then turned to glare at the little boy. “What did he say, do you know?”

Lance lifted a hand to the back of his neck. “That’s not really the issue, the issue is I had to send Johnny to the nurses office, but his grandmother says not to punish Taylor. I’m thinking just a mark for each and no recess for the rest of the week.”

“Taylor should have detention,” Mrs. Lester said. “She did physically hurt her peers.”

“No, I’m the homeroom teacher and I get to make that call.”

“I agree with Mr. McClain,” the old woman said. “If my Johnny doesn’t change his attitude, this isn’t the only time he’s going to get kicked in the balls, darling.”

Mrs. Lester huffed. “Fine, it’s not as if I was there to witness this.”

“Mrs. Lester, would you mind escorting the children back to class? They will be leaving for the rest of the day as well,” Lance explained. 

The woman looked reluctant. 

“I’ll be right behind you. I’m really thankful you’re letting me use this computer room.”

Lance cast her a heart winning smile and the woman shifted and gave him. “Alright, Mr. McClain. I was the newest teacher until you, I understand wanting to take care of things on your own. Come along, Taylor, Johnny.”

Keith let out a breath when Mrs. Lester left. He didn’t want to argue with her, he argued plenty with her kind at work. 

“Keith, have a seat,” Lance said and offered the chair Taylor had vacated. 

The grandmother looked between the two and stood. She gave Keith a smile before walking to the door. “I’ll freshen up a bit and let you explain things, Mr. McClain.”

Lance moved to the old woman’s seat and brought it closer to Keith. “Hey, I’m sorry about this.”

Keith shook his head. “No, she’s gotten in trouble before. I thought it was going to be something serious.”

“It almost was,” Lance explained. “There was another boy, but I stopped them before she could get to him. I would have stopped them earlier, but I literally had my hands tied with another student helping them.”

“Taylor is usually calm, but when she gets mad, she ignites. She gets it from me,” Keith explained. “I don’t even know what could have put her off this time. Those two boys bother her a lot. I’m guessing it was the Griffin kid? His parents are rich and he has a brother that’s way older than him who used to frequent my last job.”

“About that. Apparently, in their math class, they had a question that was like ‘if Susan is twice as old as Karen’s daughter and Karen is five years older than Susan, which of these answers make sense’.”

Keith groaned. “I hate those questions.”

“So do I, that’s why I don’t teach math,” Lance chuckled then sighed. “Apparently Griffin likes these questions. He, uh...he figured out … how do I put it? The reason Taylor started the fight was because she was protecting you.”

Keith’s face reddened in shame. “What did the kid say?”

“I don’t want to say it.”

“He called me something, didn’t he? Probably ‘slut’.”

Lance reached out and grabbed Keith’s hand pulling it into his and he held it. It was warm and Keith felt tears in his eyes. 

The older Griffin brother had said it before. Probably told his brother. 

“Fucking kids...fuck ...sorry I shouldn’t cuss in front of a teacher.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Lance assured and leaned in closer. “You’re a parent, but you’re also a person. And you have a good kid.”

Keith shook his head. It wasn’t fair. Taylor shouldn’t have to defend Keith’s honor. 

“You don’t know anything about me, Lance.”

Lance’s hand tightened on his and his voice lowered. “I could.”

It wasn’t a purr, but it was soft and vulnerable. An open invitation for Keith to take. Shiro’s words from earlier were still fresh in his mind and Keith felt his heart racing. 

Mr. McClain was his type, but...Keith remembered his high school hallways and that awkward lanky teenager he used to watch. He could barely remember his face properly or his voice. Who was he now? Probably successful with a family. Keith hoped so at least after the selfishness Keith had bestowed on him. 

Keith didn’t need to force another alpha into his mess. 

“I thank you for the concern,” Keith said and pulled his hand away. He stood up and walked towards the door, but paused. “Really, you’re a great help, Mr. McClain, and I’ll figure out a way to thank you when I have to bother you for help in an appropriate way. If you come by LION’s again, I’ll introduce you to Plaxum. She’s studying oceanography.”

Keith didn’t want to look at Mr. McClain, but he did. The alpha was staring at his hand with a disheartened expression. He sighed and met Keith’s eyes with a grin. 

“I’ll get the door for you, Kogane,” Lance said and held the door open for Keith. 

Ko-...Keith looked at Lance curiously as he moved past him. 

The teacher just kept grinning. “Am I still babysitting Taylor on saturday?”

“Y-yeah, if you don’t mind.”

Lance led Keith down the hall. “I’d like to be paid in LION’s spicy wings.”

Keith smiled feeling relieved. “I can arrange that.”

🧵

Keith found himself running into Mr. McClain often as September moved into October. Keith didn’t ask the teacher to babysit again, so it was confusing when they ended up sitting a chair apart in the ratty laundromat in the basement of their apartment. Or when, no matter how random Keith was about getting his mail, they still ended up exchanging greetings when walking past the mailroom. There had been a whole week in which Keith had been in charge of picking up Taylor and that week also happened to be Lance’s week to stay after school for pickup. Those conversations were short, but it was how relaxed Taylor looked talking to Lance as the teacher led her to Keith’s car that got to Keith. 

They looked good walking together. It broke Keith’s heart every day. 

The worse, though, were the elevator rides. Avoiding the elevator when Keith saw Lance in it or joining was too obvious. And the trip was short. Taking the stairs wasn’t an option because they were only for emergencies and there would be an alarm blaring. It wasn’t worth it, not when Lance didn’t even do anything wrong. 

The elementary school teacher was an almost perfect gentleman. He stood as far away from Keith as possible and looked at him very little after their initial greetings. Sometimes, though, he got brave. He might ask about Taylor, or remind Keith about something happening at school. Keith wasn’t great at small talk. He knew how to cover that with customary flirting which helped him at work. That was at work, though and it was always a little easier to flirt when the customer was attractive even if not Keith’s type. 

Lance was Keith’s type though. 

So, maybe it was Keith’s fault that Lance slowly started to flirt with him again. 

It didn’t make Keith uncomfortable, and that was what made Keith uncomfortable. 

No, he was just overthinking it. Keith either overthought or completely ignored things. Lance was just a flirty guy. He had said so himself in one of their small conversations. Maybe he really did want to meet Plaxum. Lance was a good guy and deserved the family he said he wanted. 

Keith groaned and splashed water onto his face before leaving the bathroom. 

Tonight was a big night at LION’s. Another game was happening that Keith didn’t give a shit about. He wanted his mind to be empty, but just as he was coming off his break, he saw Ezor, one of their receptionists, seat Lance McClain in Keith’s section. He had a couple friends with him. Keith recognized the big guy from the bachelor party and supposed the girl he was with was his newly wedded wife. The other one, Keith didn’t care about, except she looked a lot like Lance. 

Probably a relative. 

He felt relieved by that. 

“Hi, I’m Keith and I’ll be your server today,” Keith greeted as he walked up to the table. “What can I get you to drink?”

Hunk, the large guy, smiled politely seeming to recognize him. His wife was also nice. Lance looked surprised. The girl beside him was eying Keith up and down.

“You look familiar. Like, really familiar. Has my brother hit on you before?”

Keith couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Rachel!” Lance exclaimed and nudged his sister. “He’s...he just lives in my apartment. You probably saw him when you came to visit yesterday. Sorry, Keith, I didn’t think you worked today.”

Keith raised a brow, but shrugged. “I’d rather serve you than some of the other tables tonight. Drinks?”

“Oh, yeah, it looks so busy tonight. Let’s order quickly,” Hunk said. 

Their orders were simple, but there was a lot of alcohol, most of it drunk between the siblings. Keith supposed they were celebrating something.

Siblings. 

Keith shook his head. No time for those thoughts. 

The night was rough. Keith slapped two people’s hands off his ass already and one of them he’d stepped on which almost made him have to call a manager, but Ezor was the most manager like person they had and she wasn’t good at stopping problems. A little threat never hurt. Luck was finally at Keith’s side when a big tipper walked in and sat in Keith’s section. 

The only problem was, Keith had to flirt. 

Keith rolled his eyes and stretched out his arms. A two hundred dollar tip was worth wanting to throw up. 

“Hey, Mr. Lubos,” Keith greeted. “You brought some pretty girls in with you this time.”

The man looked at the two women who were with him. They looked unimpressed and were wearing tailored suits. Co-workers looking to butter up their boss with booze, football, and scantily clad servers. He then wrapped an arm around Keith’s waist. It was gross, but he didn’t let his hand wander. This man knew Keith. No touching, but he could look. 

“They’re lovely when at work. How about you bring me my regular and then whatever fancy stuff you have to drink and salads for these two. They aren’t going to eat much, just talk business while I ignore them.”

Keith laughed. It was fake as fuck, but that was what Mr. Lubos liked. Then, he hurried off while writing down the order every server knew. 

Keith made sure to pay the most attention to Mr. Lubos’ table. Bottle after bottle. He always stood close and chatted for a minute. Everyone else he just checked up on, even Lance’s. 

He couldn’t forget about Lance’s table, though. 

The teacher’s eyes were always on Keith. He had definitely seen Keith get harassed, being pulled down by his sister. And now he was acting shameful, flirting with this ugly old man. But, anyone that ignored Lubos only got a twenty. That was still good, but he paid at least a hundred every hour he was here and he stayed for at least two. His co-workers always knew to tip that much, too, encase the man passed out first. 

Keith walked Lubos to the door when he left, the three hundred dollar tip, twice as much as he usually paid, feeling like gold in his pocket. Once the man was gone, he turned to Ezor and handed her his book. 

“I’m going to lunch now, I still have tables that are here.”

“You lucked out tonight, but no worries, I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

Keith was quick to grab his jacket and head to the convenience store down the strip. He grabbed a larger lunch and passed by an indent where garbage cans and plants were placed to beauty-fy the area when he felt himself get shoulder checked. Twice. 

“Fuck,” Keith cussed as he dropped his bag. 

He turned to see who had passed him only to hear snickering coming from two young looking guys with bags from the expensive shoe store at the other end that had just closed for the night. Assholes. Keith picked up the bag and frowned when he noticed it was leaking. His drink had busted open. He walked into the indent and trashed the whole bag. He could probably get a milkshake out of the cook if he passed him a five. 

“Keith, are you okay?”

Keith turned to see Lance walking into the little fake alley. 

“Were those guys bothering you?”

“No, Lance,” Keith sighed, “just some assholes not watching where they were going.”

“What happened to your lunch?”

“It exploded. What are you even doing here still?” Keith asked. He just wanted to go back into LION’s and finish his shift. 

“We went to a store, but they closed so we came to get junk food. I saw you from the window of the convenience store. Do you need to buy another dinner?”

Keith shook his head. “I don’t need a white knight or anything right now, Lance. I can afford to buy a second lunch, okay.”

“That’s...not what I meant.”

“Just leave me alone, Lance. I don’t need you to keep an eye on me all the time.”

Lance looked away ashamed. “You could have told me to stop. I didn’t even notice I was doing it half the time. And other people were looking at you.”

“Fuck, and? Fuck! You know, I have to deal with customers, I don’t need to deal with you, too.”

“Oh, but you can deal with rich old men? If that’s your type, you could have told me because I’ve really been getting mixed signals here.”

Rich old men. 

Keith felt his breath catch and his skin crawl. He shook himself and tried to push past Lance, but the other man caught his wrist. 

“Wait a moment Keith.”

Keith pulled back. His wrist burned from nothing more than the touch. 

“No, fuck you, what are you saying? Flirting is part of my job and what I do in my spare time doesn’t have anything to do with you. I don’t have very much spare time anyways. I’m not going to spend it with old men and I’m not spending it with you. Are those signals mixed?”

Lance was angry. That was very obvious even if Keith couldn’t smell it wafting off him. Keith took a couple steps back, but refused to submit. The smell didn’t follow after him. It was just anger. 

Lance didn’t say anything. His fists clenched and he stared at his feet then slowly took in deep breaths. 

“You’re right. Just because I’m attracted to you and we get along doesn’t give me any rights to your business. The past doesn’t matter. I don’t want to look at it.”

The past? It was hard for Keith not to think about the past when he had Taylor as a reminder. But, he loved his daughter. He had this job because he wanted her to feel worthy of a loving family even if that family was just Keith. 

Lance’s fists loosened and he ran a hand through his hair. “You get tips. Of course you’re going to pay more attention to a rich customer. I know that. As for the watching, can you ignore it? I actually wanted to help you more, but I’m a bit drunk right now. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, not fight with you.”

Lance did look a little off. It wasn’t an excuse for trying to frame Keith for something. 

“I’m fine, Lance.”

Lance held his hands up in a non threatening manner. “Okay, I’ll leave. I’m sorry...that was stupid of me to say, but...no, no buts, just...I’m sorry, Keith. For everything, now and before.”

Keith watched and Lance turned and left. Before? Lance hadn’t done anything before. And now...what had Lance even said? That he was frustrated over Keith giving him mixed signals, right? Usually, that was bullshit. 

Keith hunkered down beside one of the plants and rubbed at his head. 

Lance was a busy body and nosy and loud and...ah fuck, Keith already knew he was his type. How many times did he have to admit this to himself? But, he also didn’t want to date. 

He didn’t want to date. 

But, he liked Lance. 

And Lance probably liked him. 

But, how much did he like Lance? 

Why did he have to look so much like ‘Taylor’? It wasn’t fair. 

🧵

It was two am when Keith finally got on the elevator to his apartment. He was tired and grumpy. Thank god he had gotten Mr. Lubos that day because the thoughts running through his head got Keith shit tips the rest of the night. It was hard to be nice to assholes when he kept thinking about one particular asshole. 

That wasn’t fair. Lance wasn’t really an asshole. 

Keith kind of was, though. 

The elevator rose and Keith watched the indicator change, frowning when it went past the third floor. He looked at the keypad and noticed he’d accidentally hit four and five instead of three. It was exhaustion. The doors opened and he went to push the third floor when he felt his foot landed on something that clinked together. There was a pair of keys on the elevator floor with a tag in the four hundreds.

Well, Keith was already here, might as well return the keys. He grabbed them and stepped off the elevator before reading the tag completely. 

Four-twelve. 

Keith groaned. It was fine. If Lance didn’t open the door, Keith would just drop them off to him at school. He could even give them to Taylor to return. She could keep a secret. 

No, Keith shouldn’t use his kid to avoid someone. 

Keith paused when he got to Lance’s apartment door. The man sat outside it dosing. Keith approached him and kicked Lance’s leg lightly to wake him up. 

“Oh! Hi...uh, Keith. What are you doing here?”

Keith dangled the keys from a finger in front of Lance. “Lose something?”

Lance quickly stood and took the keys from Keith. “Oh thank god. I texted Hunk and my sister like an hour ago to see if I left them at Hunk’s place, but they haven’t gotten back to me. Did I leave them at LION’s? I could have sworn I had them on my way home. I mean, I drove here.”

“I found them in the elevator just now. You drove while drunk?” Keith asked as Lance fumbled with getting the key in the lock. 

“No, no, I sobered up at Hunk’s place.”

“And your sister?”

“Plastered,” Lance explained. “I left her with Hunk and Shay.”

“You didn’t think to check the elevator?”

Lance’s door clicked open. He turned back to give Keith a nervous grin. “I’m not used to living somewhere where I can lose my keys and find them in the same hour. I figured I dropped them in the parking garage and it was better for me to guard my door in case someone tried to steal from my apartment. I could actually use a new car, so I didn’t care about that so much.”

Keith shook his head. “We’re not the best apartment, but we’re okay. I’ve lived in areas like that before. Until I got adopted.”

“Adopted?” Lance asked and his eyes lit up. 

That look made Keith step back. “Uh, yeah. It’s not a big deal or anything.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes...sense?” Lance’s face went through a dozen changes. There was understanding, then confusion, then understanding again, and anger, but he eventually just sighed. “Thanks for finding my key, Keith.”

Keith stood still as Lance opened the door and walked in. 

It was friday night. 

Shiro had taken Taylor to her grandparents so he wouldn’t see her until sunday afternoon. And Keith had a short shift tomorrow in the afternoon. 

Wait, what was he thinking?

“Lance,” Keith called out. 

Fuck, he had this guy on his mind all night. It was bothering him. Did he like Lance or did he like him because he looked like his baby daddy?

Lance turned. “Yeah?”

The fucking universe had forced Keith onto Lance’s floor tonight. Keith didn’t believe in that stuff, but it was a nice excuse. 

Fuck it. 

Keith launched himself at Lance. 

Kissing was weird. Keith had never gotten used to it and didn’t really know how to initiate it. He didn’t kiss Lance long enough to reciprocate it. Then, while Lance was still in shock, he had the audacity to push the alpha inside his apartment and close the door behind him. 

“K-Keith?”

Keith backed Lance up into his living room. He stood there, breath starting to get heavy. His skin itched. His heart was pattering. He had never gotten close enough to get a whiff of Lance’s natural smell before, but he could taste it on his lips now and it was good. 

“You want to fuck me, right?”

Lance waved his hands. “Woah, woah, what?”

“Don’t give me some bullshit about wanting to take it slow or anything. I’m asking if you want to have sex with me right here, right now?”

“I...I…” Lance stammered. “I don’t want to be disrespectful of you. I think you’re hot, yeah, but, uh…”

Keith shook his head then pulled off his jacket and dropped his bag so he was only wearing the tanktop and shorts that were his uniform. “This is an offer, not a hypothetical.”

Lance’s face reddened and he turned away. “Keith, I drank tonight.”

“You said you sobered up. We’re adults. Yes or no?”

“Keith,” Lance groaned and ruffled up his hair. “Okay, yeah. Yes. I just haven’t had a sudden situation like this in a while.”

Keith approached Lance and pushed him down onto the couch until the alpha was laying straight. Then, he climbed on top of him. 

“And? I haven’t had sex in years.”

“Really?” Lance asked. 

Keith just shook his head and went for the button up Lance was wearing. He was rough with undoing it. When he spread the shirt open, he felt himself getting wet seeing how broad and toned Lance was. His hands were shaking though. He didn’t know what to do. He just wanted Lance to fuck him. 

Maybe then he would know how he actually felt?

Maybe this would just make him more of a jerk?

Keith shook his head of his thoughts and kissed Lance again. This time, Lance took over. 

“You smell so good,” Lance whispered as they parted. 

“You don’t have to say all of that, just watch me,” Keith said. 

Lance laid there, eyes trained on Keith. 

Keith lifted up to give him enough room. He pulled his dick out from his shorts so it wasn’t trapped. Then, he grabbed the crotch of his shorts and the thin strap of the thongs he had to wear with his uniform, to pull them aside. 

They were wet and he was wet. Keith hadn’t been this wet out of heat since his first boyfriend. His body was so much more honest. Keith moved his other hand behind himself and then slipped two fingers into the wetness and found his slit. Once he had his fingers comfortably inside himself, Keith let go of the fabric. He settled his free arm against the back of the couch for leverage and began to finger himself on top of Lance. 

“God, Keith, what are you even doing?” Lance moaned as he watched Keith pleasure himself. 

“What...ah...does it look like? Isn’t this something you’ve thought about? Everyone thinks about fucking us in these outfits,” Keith said and added a third finger. 

“Keith, I don’t...just think about that.”

Keith laughed. “Oh, I see. You’re a perverted teacher, aren’t you.”

Lance’s whole face went red and he covered it. “Please don’t. Let me touch you or something.”

“Here, I’ll give you something you can touch,” Keith said and lifted his tank top to show off his chest. 

“You...are so fucking hot,” Lance said and reached out to squeeze Keith’s pecs. 

Keith moaned, his fingers slipping in further. Lance fingers stroked at his nipples and Keith tried to be quicker about preparing himself. 

“You’re big, right?” Keith asked as he added a fourth finger. 

“Can’t you feel that for yourself?” Lance asked and moved his hands down along Keith’s stomach. 

“I’ll just look then.”

Keith pulled his fingers out. They were covered in his slick. Before he could move to undo Lance’s pant zipper, Lance grabbed his hand and stuck Keith’s fingers in his mouth. He sucked them clean as he moved to his own zipper. Lance was slow and sensual about it. Keith didn’t want to take too long, he didn’t want to be seduced. He just wanted to get fucked and hope that made things clearer. 

Instead, Keith’s heart fluttered and he whined. 

“There, see?” Lance said. 

Keith looked down to see Lance’s cock. It was longer than thick, but he was hung even for an alpha. And it curved a bit to the left. Keith eyed it for a moment then shifted. Keith pulled his hand away and grabbed the base of Lance’s dick as he slowly lowered, shifting around vaguely remembering how to get a dick like this to hit the better spots. 

It felt perfect inside him. 

“God, you feel amazing,” Lance moaned. His hands had taken purchase on Keith’s thighs and he was straining not to move. 

Keith felt like crying. 

Instead, he began to ride Lance. 

Keith was glad for all the working out he’d done after giving birth. Originally. It was just because he wanted to be strong enough to protect Taylor, but then it started being about vanity in a way. Sometimes he remembered a woman, taller than him, but with a similar build. He couldn’t bring up the image right now as he worked himself on the teacher’s cock. 

He was fucking his daughter’s teacher. It sounded like a cheesy porn plot. 

It felt amazing, though. 

One of Lance’s hands moved from Keith’s thigh to hold around his waist. Lance sat up a bit and pulled Keith down. His mouth connected with Keith’s chest. Keith’s muscles tensed at the new sensation. Fuck, he’d forgotten how sensitive a touch there could be when it was sexual. His slit clamped down on Lance with every suck on Keith’s nipple. Keith closed his eyes taking in the sensation and feeling frustrated when his rhythm started to be thrown off because he couldn’t concentrate. Lance shifted around and began thrusting up, bouncing Keith so he wouldn’t have to do as much work. 

Fuck it, Keith let him. 

It felt good. 

It felt too good. 

Heat felt so embarrassing with a child around. How was he supposed to have a lover, too? He didn’t deserve this. 

He didn’t deserve any of it. 

Suddenly, Keith was pulled into a tight hug. 

“Shh, Keith, you’re crying.”

“It feels good, keep going,” Keith insisted. 

“Okay, but stop thinking. Look at me, this time,” Lance said. 

Keith pulled away and stared into Lance’s blue eyes. He let the waves of pleasure wash through him as he was bounced. He felt himself cum once when Lance dared a hand along the tip of his dick and broke eye contact. He shivered and held on as Lance continued inside of him. Then, he was being filled and that set off Keith’s internal orgasm which left him shaky and limp. 

Lance held him again, this time tighter, a hand in his hair. 

Keith took his time regaining his breath. “I’m not staying over.”

“I figured, but shower here and put on a pair of my sweats. Your shorts are soaked.”

Keith didn’t want to, but he hadn’t calculated the fact he hadn’t exactly planned this whole experience ahead of time. “Okay, thanks.”

“Keith, did you just need a fuck or did you want to fuck me?”

That was certainly a question Keith had hoped not to be asked. “I don’t really know, sorry.”

“Still as brash as ever I see.”

“Sorry,” Keith repeated. 

“Don’t worry about it, I agreed.” 

Then, Lance kissed Keith’s hair. 

That was it, Keith liked Lance, but he wasn’t ready for this. Not tonight at least. 


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another crazy chapter and half way through

**Chapter 4**

  
  
  


Keith preferred celebrating Halloween over his actual birthday. He wondered how long it would be before Taylor realized people didn’t usually buy a spooky cake and blow out candles on halloween or give presents to their father. Actually, it was only Shiro who did that. He always forced himself over to Keith’s on whichever day Keith had taken off to take Taylor trick or treating. He wore a ridiculous costume and carried in cake and presents like some kind of creepy santa. One year he had even dressed up as Jack Skeleton and carried a sack into Keith’s apartment. Taylor had been Sally. 

This year, Taylor was dressed up as some blue cybonic lion from a cartoon she liked and Shiro was just in a suit with fangs. Keith hadn’t planned on doing anything more than pulling out his usual red flannel and black jeans and topping it off with a black cowboy hat he had won at a bull riding bar in college, but Shiro forced him back into his bedroom. He pleaded outside Keith’s door to wear something sexy. Actually, he said pretty, but Keith knew he was just censoring it for Taylor so she would beg, too. Eventually, he let Taylor pick and ended up walking around the block in a black mini skirt that was part of LION’s special event days, fishnets, and a black top that was basically see-through. Taylor had pulled out a cat ear headband and excitedly said he was a cat. 

So, Keith was a sexy cat because that was what his daughter wanted him to be. 

Walking around the neighborhood, Keith got cat called, but standing next to Shiro with Taylor’s hand in his, he looked very much not single. But, he was single. 

He was single. 

Keith was unbearably single. 

Fucking Lance hadn’t cured Keith of his feelings. It did the complete opposite, actually. Keith remembered enjoying sex in high school, but he had been so stressed by everything that he never really got a chance to stop and think about it. 

Then he got depressed and Taylor and his own stubbornness was the only thing keeping him going. It wasn’t until the second half of college that Keith finally felt like he was breathing again. Now, though, there was too much oxygen. 

When they were through with the block, Taylor with one bag already full, they freshened up then started going floor by floor through the apartment. 

“Dad, we’re going to Mr. McClain’s, right? A lot of the teachers mentioned they’d have a big set up if anyone wanted to come by, but Mr. McClain only told me that he’d serve one of those giant recess to any trick or treaters that came by his place. I think he’s having a party, too.”

“Mr. McClain? Right, one of your teachers live here,” Shiro said and eyed Keith. 

Keith turned, but he knew his face gave him away. “No one is really giving out candy here, so I guess we’ll stop by.”

The fourth floor did not sound very exciting. There was one door with halloween decorations and a note saying to knock for candy. They stopped and were met by a little old woman who eyed Keith with disgust and was quick to shut the door on them before heading down to apartment four-twelve. Light music escaped through the door which was decorated in a very classy black. Keith urged Taylor to knock and stood back waiting. 

“Trick or Treat!” Taylor greeted as the door swung open. 

“Ah, Taylor,” Lance greeted wearing a witch hat and cloak over a nice suit. “What a cute costume. My nephew and niece watch that show. The blue one’s actually my favorite.” 

Taylor beamed and looked back at Keith and Shiro. Lance finally looked up at them as well. He smiled as usual at Keith, but there was something to the way he smirked that had Keith feeling hot and embarrassed. He eyed Shiro curiously. 

“Keith,” Lance greeted. 

“Hi, Lance. Um, this is my brother, Shiro.”

Lance held out his hand to Shiro. “I’ve seen him around the school.”

“You, too. Heard you’re a good teacher and a great babysitter. I’m sorry my brother has to bother you, he’s stubborn.”

Lance laughed. “Oh, I know.”

“Taylor...Taylor’s trick or treating,” Keith reminded. 

“Yes, I see that, and I promised her candy. However, do you all want to come in? I have a little party going. Mostly friends, but I have my nephew and niece here, too so it’s nothing wild. You can get some refreshments.”

Keith glanced over at Shiro who looked already won over by the thought of interacting with new people. Taylor looked shy, but curious. “We should check the other apartments before they stop handing out candy.”

Lance shifted his witch hat around. “I’ll be honest, there aren’t anymore apartments with candy. I took my niece and nephew around already.”

“Oh,” Keith said and realized he was trapped. “Okay, we could use a drink.”

There weren’t many people inside Lance’s apartment. Keith recognized them as the friends Lance was with at the bachelor party dinner and then a man that looked a bit like Lance with his arm around a woman. They must have been the parents of the children trained intensely on the movie on the screen or maybe another family member. 

“I’ll go get that candy for you, Taylor, how about you go sit and watch the movie. Nadia’s seen it like six times today, she won’t mind starting it from the beginning, she’s in charge of the remote.”

Taylor nodded and looked at her father and uncle. Keith was about to go with her when Lance spoke again. 

“Do you want to help me get the candy, Keith? I really did buy the largest Reese’s I could find to hand out. You can choose which one she should have.”

“Okay,” Keith agreed and looked towards Shiro. 

Shiro winked and waved Keith off. “I’ll watch Taylor and get us drinks.”

Nervously, Keith followed Lance back to his bedroom. It was a pretty well kept bedroom, nothing like Keith’s. Keith kept his house clean except his bedroom. Even Taylor was better about it than he was. Lance only had a pile of clothes hidden behind a waste basket and a few cans on his night stand that indicated an actual person lived here.. The longer he stood there waiting as Lance rustled around in his closet, the more he remembered everything from the last time he was in Lance’s apartment. That couch...the couch children were sitting on...he’d ridden Lance on it only a few weeks ago. 

Fuck. 

Lance definitely disinfected it, right? 

It...it wasn’t a big deal, parents fucked all the time all over the house, that’s how they got more children. 

It wasn’t a big deal. 

It didn’t make Keith a bad parent. 

“Sorry for the wait, I’ve only kept a couple near the door because Silvio tries to steal them,” Lance said as he brought an armful of large candy bars down onto his bed. When he turned to look at Keith, he frowned. “Keith, are you freaking out on me?”

Keith focused himself back on Lance. “Oh...I...sorry. I was distracted.”

“If you feel threatened here, you can leave, Keith. I don’t want to make you that uncomfortable. I wanted an excuse to talk to you alone, but I really am just handing out candy and hoping maybe for playdates. I babysit my family sometimes.”

“It’s not...that. Um...the couch...sorry, I came here for candy. The ghost shaped one is fine.”

Lance picked up the candy and walked over to Keith. Instead of handing it to him, he held it above their heads. “You’re thinking about the couch? If I recall, that was something you initiated.”

Keith reddened. “Lance...please.”

“Oh, god, Keith, don’t whine, you’ll make  _ me _ remember. I’m already going to be imagining this costume of yours in my dreams.”

“It’s...it was Taylor’s doing. She wanted me to be a cat with her.”

“Thank her for me,” Lance said and moved in closer. 

Their faces were almost touching. Keith twitched with anticipation. He hated waiting, though. If Lance was trying to get a kiss out of him, fine. He leaned up the couple inches that separated their heights and pecked the alpha’s lips. 

“There...so stop teasing me now,” Keith said only for his lips to be captured by Lance. 

Lance kissed him roughly. He pushed Keith up against the nearest wall and devoured him in a sudden rush. Keith couldn’t react with rational thought and went on instinct. He kissed back and wrapped one leg around Lance’s hip, his arms going around the alpha’s neck and knocking his hat off. Lance scooped one arm below Keith and squeezed the hard at Keith’s fishnet clad thigh beneath his skirt. Keith lifted up his other leg and let himself be fully held against the wall as he made out with his daughter’s teacher only a couple rooms aways from his brother and a room of strangers. 

Keith pulled away red faced and confused. 

Lance looked to be holding back a growl. He leaned his head against Keith’s. 

“You surprise me every time, Keith,” Lance said. “I was just teasing you, but you’re so impatient. You always have been. It’s fun, but fuck if it isn’t frustrating.”

Keith couldn’t deny what Lance said. He was more surprised Lance had picked up on that having only known him for a couple months. 

“Keith, you...we definitely went to the same high school. Have you realized that?”

Keith furrowed his brow. “Did we? I don’t think so. Maybe? I didn’t pay attention to my classmates in high school.”

“Yeah, I realized that. It doesn't matter though. My point is, you’re infuriating, but I can’t help liking you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lance shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. The point I’m trying to make is I can’t keep doing this. I’m fine with friendly flirting, but I don’t think you really get it outside of your job. Like, you laugh at my jokes, Keith. No one laughs at my jokes except sometimes the students, but those jokes are for them. And you obviously find me hot. But, you tried to turn me down once. I flirted with you a little and it was like you forgot you turned me down. And then we fucked. And now we’re here.”

Keith looked down. He wasn’t sure what to say. “I...I don’t know how to mess around. I didn’t mean to do any of this. If you put me down I’ll leave and stop troubling you.”

“No, Keith. I’m saying I don’t want to mess around. I really like you. Even if you’re honestly such a jerk.”

Keith winced. “I don’t understand.”

“And that’s why you’re a jerk. I don’t want to sugar coat it. So, I’m just going to ask you straight out, no testing the waters.”

“What?” Keith asked. 

Lance finally let Keith down and took a few steps back. He kicked his witch hat off to the side and picked up the chocolate he’d dropped. He held it out to Keith. 

“Keith, do you want to go on a date with me?”

“I...what about Taylor?”

“It’s just one date, Keith. I wouldn’t risk my job if I didn’t like you.”

“I don’t want you to risk your job,” Keith argued. 

“It’s not that big of a deal. Everyone expects I’ll mate and marry soon. Besides, I’m only Taylor’s teacher for this year and we can take this as slow as you want. Just one date to try it out.”

Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This guy was pushy. Keith maybe needed a push. He reached out and took the candy. 

“Alright, one date.”

🧵

Keith paced the hallway from his bedroom to the kitchen over the course of thirty minutes. He had begun to run out of things to fiddle with in the kitchen to distract himself from the fact he was still only wearing sweats and he hadn’t brushed his hair. There was less than an hour before Shiro showed up to babysit Taylor for the night. Not long after that, Lance would be here. 

“Dad, you put three bags in the trash can already. You took it out two hours ago,” Taylor said from her usual spot on the couch. 

Keith stared at the trashcan then to the fourth bag he had pulled from the cabinet to fill it. Well, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about a leak. He put the bag back and went to the kitchen sink to stare out the window there. 

“Hey, Dad, have you signed that field trip slip yet? You forgot to do it yesterday and it was due today, but Mr. McClain said he would get it from you later.”

There was a sheet of paper on their kitchen bar he had placed there so he wouldn’t forget. Last night he had been busy with research and fallen asleep at his computer. 

“Oh, sorry, Doll,” Keith said and grabbed a pen to sign the papers quickly.

“If Mr. McClain knocks, should I open the door for him? I don’t want him coming to check if I’ve done my homework yet.”

“You can answer it if you’re expecting him,” Keith answered and handed the paper to Taylor to slip into her school bag by the door. “Did you do your homework?”

“It’s friday!” Taylor complained. “I just have to read a book.”

“Well, how about you get started on that. I feel like you’ve seen all the cat videos there could be by now,” Keith said seeing the usual compilation video playing quietly on their living room television. He didn’t really mind them, but it made him feel bad about not getting Taylor an actual cat. 

Taylor crinkled up her nose and crossed her arms. “How about you finally get ready for work.”

Keith rolled his tongue and held back a response. The audacity of this child, but she had a point. “I’m not going to work, Taylor.”

The little girl turned and eyed Keith. “Where then? And why can’t I come?”

Keith sighed and moved to sit in front of Taylor on the coffee table. He knew he shouldn’t have kept this from her. Eight was plenty old enough to understand what a date was.

“Doll, do you know what a date is?”

Taylor uncrossed her arms and sat up straighter. “Yeah, Shiro told me a long time ago. But, people go on dates all the time on television. If you like someone, you take them on a date to get to know them better and one day maybe you’ll marry.”

Keith nodded and reached out to take Taylor’s hands. “That’s right. And I...I have a date tonight, Taylor. That’s why Shiro is going to watch you until I get back.”

The little girl tilted her head and stared at Keith for a moment then turned to look at the door. When she looked back at Keith, she was frowning. “Who is it? I’ll kick them if I don’t like them.”

Keith brought Taylor’s hands to his forehead and laughed. She was too cute. “Well, do you like your teacher?”

Taylor pulled her hands away and crossed them again. “I only like Mr. McClain.”

“Well, good, because that’s who I’m going on a date with, if that’s okay with you.”

Taylor shrugged. “You’re the parent. If you like each other then you go on a date.”

“I do really like Lance,” Keith assured, “but I should have asked how you felt about it first.”

Taylor’s nose scrunched up again. “Laaaaannnnccceee. Ewww. I’m not calling him that. But, I don’t care. As long as he doesn’t give me more homework.”

“Good girl,” Keith said and stood then sighed. “Now that you know, do you want to come help me pick out an outfit?”

Taylor’s eyes glowed and she eagerly hopped up from the couch and ran to Keith’s room. 

Keith ended up in a black turtleneck and black jeans, but lots of accessories that he had lost in the back of his drawer at some point. Taylor did come into his room and play dress up sometimes, so of course she knew where they were. 

Shiro arrived and Keith couldn’t even look at his brother’s face without feeling embarrassed. It didn’t help that Taylor was now going on and on about what kind of date Keith should go on in the future as Shiro began pulling out what Keith had prepared for their dinner. 

Finally, the door rang and Keith hurried over to it yelling a farewell behind him. 

“Hey, Keith-oh, did you not tell Taylor what you were doing?” Lance asked as Keith shut the door hard behind him. 

“No, I did. They’re just...my brother is watching her and they like to tease me. Sorry.”

“Aw, that’s cute, but I guess that means Taylor’s cool with it?”

Keith nodded and looked Lance over. He was in a button up and jeans. Simple, but he still looked nice. 

“Yeah, she was excited to help me get dressed.”

Lance leaned closer to Keith. “Oh, were you nervous?”

Keith looked away. “I just...kind of forgot how dates worked.”

Lance’s face scrunched up and he leaned away. “When was the last time you went on a date?”

Keith started walking down the hall, Lance following behind him. “What do you consider a date?”

“Uh, spending time together at an event or place with someone you like with a mutual understanding that a romantic relationship is being explored or furthered.”

Keith frowned. “By that definition, does a school dance count?”

Lance suddenly looked smug. “I think so even if all you did was makeout in a dark corner.”

“So, that’s a pretty common thing then?” Keith mused. “Then high school was the last time I had a date.”

Lance paused as they approached the elevator. Keith turned back to look at him. The expression on the alpha’s face was hard to read, but it wasn’t a good one. Keith got on the elevator and waited for Lance to join him. Lance followed, still deep in thought. 

“So,” Keith started to fill the silence in the small space. “Where are we going?”

Lance looked up startled. “Oh, arcade. There's a smoothie store next door. That is if you’re cool with that.”

Keith grinned. “Yeah, that sounds fun. I’ve wanted to take Taylor to an arcade, but I thought she was too young.”

“Eight is totally old enough to enjoy an arcade. The lazer tag is amazing there. Maybe if things go well I can get my niece and nephew and we can all play together.”

They chatted a bit more as the elevator made its way down and opened. Whatever thoughts Lance had before appeared to have left him for now as they walked to his car. His car was a little worse for wear, but Keith had driven something similar while he was in college. His adopted parents forced him to get a better car after he graduated by gifting it to him. 

“I think Taylor liked hanging out with Nadia and Silvio. She mentions them sometimes. Mostly about how they have a cat.”

Lance laughed and took his car on the road headed to the arcade. “Is a cat all it takes to win Taylor over?”

“No, you have to be nice to me, too.”

Lance glanced at Keith and wiggled his brows. “Oh? I think I’ve been really nice to you.”

Keith turned away. “Stop it, this is a PG rated date.”

“Make it PG-13 cuz you’re going to be cussing once I win against you at air hockey.” 

“I’ve never played air hockey so that really wouldn’t be surprising.”

“Ah, then I’ll totally blast you at the zombie shooter,” Lance said.

Keith laughed. “Is this a competition or a date?”

“Why not both?” Lance then lifted his hand like a gun as they came to a red light and pointed it towards Keith’s chest. “They call me sharpshooter because I always hit my target.Tonight, that’s a win and your heart.”

Keith stared at Lance. 

The light turned green. 

Lance started driving again. 

It felt like Keith had been shot for real. That line resonated deeply in his chest. 

“R-right, I’m sure.”

“Well, if none of that works, I know for sure I’ll beat you at Dance Dance Revolution. Honestly, it’d be sad to see how badly you’d lose so maybe I shouldn’t challenge you.”

“Oh, you think I can’t dance, Lance?” Keith asked and smirked. “I completely accept your challenge.”

🧵

To say the least, Keith won Dance Dance Revolution.

They didn’t stay out long, just long enough that Taylor should be asleep. The arcade was thrilling. Keith hadn’t really made any friends other than the little sister of Shiro’s best friend, but she spent most of the year at a university half way across the country. It reminded him of that one gym class he’d spent with Talor’s father. The rivalry they had was what got Keith’s attention. Instead of feeling bad about that, Keith felt thankful.

After smoothies where Keith complained about his lactose intolerance which he’d mostly developed after having Taylor, they sat in Lance’s car listening to music and trying not to make out like high schoolers. They did kiss though, between Lance mentioning how he missed his parents and hometown which was two hours away, but this city was closer than where he’d gone to university. 

And he talked about being born in Cuba, near a beach called Veradero. 

“You didn’t have to walk me to my door,” Keith said as they stood together before apartment three-oh-eight. 

Lance’s hand was laced with Keith’s. He squeezed and looked at Keith with a soft expression. 

“Let me be nice to you, Keith. I never got to do this properly.”

“Properly? I think your past relations would say differently.”

Lance sighed and pulled his hand away only to move it to cup Keith’s face. “That’s not what I meant. I...I want to kiss you goodnight, but only if we’ll have another date.”

Keith had tried not to think about that. Today had been fun, but he wanted so badly to just curl up under his covers holding Taylor tight and pretend nothing else existed. He wanted to deny anyone and everyone else. Shiro used to lecture him a lot on how that wasn’t good, but the Shirogane's never pried. They were always there with opened arms. 

If Keith hadn’t had Taylor, he would have disappeared long ago. Whether metaphorically or literally, he didn’t know, he hadn’t reached that point. When he’d agreed to the adoption, it had been to save himself. He knew once he was eighteen he was going to run. Sometimes he thought having Taylor had saved him even if she brought a complexity to Keith’s life he could have avoided. 

Still, it was hard for Keith to open up, to let his feelings be acted upon. He always managed to fuck up when he did. 

“Lance, dating me isn’t going to be easy,” Keith said. 

Lance scoffed. “Oh, whatever made you think I had that idea?”

Keith sighed and shifted the stuffed dog he’d won at the arcade around in his arms. “I know I won most of the games today, but you’re winning against me.”

“Does that mean I can kiss you?” Lance asked. 

Keith pulled Lance’s hand from his face and leaned up to kiss the man on his own. Before their lips could touch, a scream came from the apartment. 

It took a moment for Keith to recognize the scream. It was such a rare thing to hear. His heart dropped and he dropped the dog. After fumbling with his keys, Keith pushed his way inside. 

In the space between the livingroom and the kitchen, Taylor had Shiro pinned to the floor as much as an eight year old could against a grown man. Shiro had captured her arms, but his face was red with nail marks, a couple of them bleeding. The little girl was now biting at her uncle with a red face, a growl disgustingly threatening, Keith almost couldn’t bear to come closer. He did, though, and scooped Taylor away. Immediately, he let out his scent. Taylor didn’t attack him, but struggled trying to get back at Shiro. 

“Shiro! What is going on? What did you do?”

Shiro barely managed to pull himself up. Behind the red marks, his face was pale. His eyes were guilty. Everything about him screamed regret. 

“I-I’m sorry, I…” 

Keith shook his head. “Just tell me or I swear…”

“Blue, you killed Blue!” Taylor cried. 

Blue. 

Keith felt anger rise up in his own chest. “Where is it?”   
  


Shiro looked around distressed, but finally produced a small tattered blue stuffed animal with scorch marks. 

Keith let out a noise, tears coming from his own eyes. “Why?...I...You can’t even see it’s face.”

“I was just...going to make tea in that kettle Mom bought you. I turned the fire on first then realized you probably packed it up again like last time because you just stick mugs in the microwave...and...I...didn’t realize until I got back that Blue got knocked down where he was helping Taylor with dishes when I was searching around and went straight into the fire. Taylor found him in the trash when she was supposed to go to bed.”

“Dad, Daddy, can you fix him? Can Grandma? Please?” Taylor begged now looking at Keith. 

Keith pushed back some hair that had fallen around Taylor’s face during her tantrum and shook his head. “Oh, Doll, I’m so sorry.”

Taylor’s face showed how heartbroken she was. She turned and glared at Shiro. 

“I hate you!” she yelled before pulling from Keith. She rushed to her room and slammed the door shut. 

Shiro tried to follow, but Keith blocked his way. 

“Shiro, I am so angry right now. There are so many things I want to say to you, but Taylor’s the one most hurt and I need to calm her down, so could you leave first and think about how to make this up to her?”

“I...okay,” Shiro agreed and collected his things. He turned back to Keith, absolute remorse radiating from him. “I never want to hurt Taylor, and even more, I don’t want to hurt you. I’m so sorry.”

It was as Shiro left that Keith noticed Lance was still in the door. The two men shared a look before Lance turned and met Keith’s eyes. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

Keith lifted a hand motioning for Lance to wait then went to Taylor’s room. The little curl was curled up in a nest of blankets and stuffed animals crying silently into a pillow. Keith sat beside her and patted her head. It was only about fifteen minutes until exhaustion put her to sleep. Quietly, Keith left her room and moved to the kitchen. 

Blue, the little lion made from his first love’s hoodie. 

Blue, the little lion that was all Taylor had of her father. 

He carried the tattered piece of memory in cradled hands and went to sit on the couch. Keith was barely aware of the other man who joined him. 

“Do you want me to stay, Keith?” Lance asked. “I don’t want to intrude if this is something personal, but you don’t look too good.”

“I...no, you should stay. It’ll keep me from copying Taylor. I don’t think it would be good for her to see me like that.”

“It’s something important,” Lance said, indicating the doll. “A favorite toy?”

Keith scoffed and lifted a hand to wipe at his own face to catch a tear before it fell. “It’s a little more than that.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I can just sit here or hug you, whatever you want.”

Keith frowned and ran a finger over the lion’s stomach. The emblem there was mostly still intact. 

“It was her father’s,” Keith explained. “It’s the only thing of her father’s I have.”

“A stuffed animal?”

“Originally, it was a hoodie. I kind of accidentally stole it from him. My adopted mother turned it into a stuffed animal for Taylor after it’s first original disaster. The emblem is still intact. Maybe I can salvage that for Taylor.”

“Emblem?” Lance leaned closer to Keith. “Oh, I had a hoodie like that when I was in high school. I got it from Varadero beach in Cuba. That’s the only place you can...get...them.”

Keith suddenly felt a chill travel up his spine and turned to look at Lance. The alpha’s eyes were wide and he stared off distantly. When he brought his attention back to Keith, his eyes were narrowed. 

“Keith, Taylor’s birthday is early July, right? Homecoming is in early October. How many months before July is October?”

“Nine,” Keith said. “If you’re curious, yeah I probably got knocked up on homecoming night. Why are we doing this math right now? Is this a distraction?”

For a few minutes Lance just opened and closed his mouth fighting for words. When he found them again, they were squeaked out and nervous. 

“I...like...Keith, I ….uhhhhh, fuck Keith, I know you don’t pay attention to people, but you’ve gotten better at it, why can’t you remember?”

“Remember what? Lance, I’m not really in the mood for whatever you’re getting at here.”

Lance turned away and ruffled up his hair. When he turned back, he kept glancing towards Taylor’s door. “Keith...is there...am I Taylor’s dad?”

“What the fuck, Lance? She’s eight years old, we just met a couple months ago. What kind of question is that?”

Lance waved his hands around before finally stilling himself. “Okay, so here’s the thing. I went to Altea high school.”

Keith nodded. “Okay? And?”

“You also have mentioned having gone there.”

“I went to a couple different ones. I never had a class with you, though so I don’t think we ever met. You were probably a freshmen when I transferred out.”

“Nope, I was a sophomore, your math is wrong,” Lance corrected. “But, this isn’t about math. This is……..I fucked you at homecoming, do you really not remember that?”

Keith’s face suddenly went red. “What? No. What?”

“Okay, we probably shouldn’t have this conversation right now cuz you’re already distressed, but...no, fuck that we have to talk about this now. I remember having a semester of gym class with a boy named Keith Kogane who wasn’t presented at the time. I caught him looking at me a lot between classes and kind of got a crush on him, but I was pretty sure he hated me. Turns out, the very next year he confesses. That same day, I invited him over to my house and goodbye v-card, hello knowledge on omega anatomy.”

Keith’s eyes widened as Lance talked. He had never mentioned his first time to Lance or anyone really. 

“Our next date is at the homecoming dance. Keith shows up really late  _ not  _ dressed for a dance, but we makeout all night until my brother invites us to an after party where we both get plastered and fuck all night in a closet. I wake up the next morning and he’s gone and I never see my first boyfriend again. Except, you’re Keith Kogane, Keith.”

Keith stood up suddenly. “Absolutely not! Her father’s name is Taylor, that’s why I named her Taylor.”

Lance raised a brow. “Okay, what does ‘Taylor’ look like?”

“He...he was a latino boy younger than me. He was scrawny and tan and had freckles. And blue eyes.”

Lance waved a hand over his body. “I’m not scrawny anymore, but I was back in sophomore year.”

“No, no way, it was someone else.”

“Keith, the only other latinos with blue eyes in that school were my siblings. Tell me ‘Taylor’s’ full name.”

“Taylor Mc...uh…”

Lance scoffed. “You really...fuck. Keith, you never bothered to learn my name? Were you even in love with me?”

“I was!” Keith defended and felt his heart stop. “No, I...I was in love with Taylor. But, his name was Taylor. He made a joke out of it when he flirted with other people. ‘They call me Taylor because of how I thread the needle’. I thought it was funny because his name was Taylor.”

Lance’s face went red this time. “God, the one person that fell for that line actually thought that was my name. I wasn’t that smart, Keith. And I said  _ the _ tailor. T-A-I-L-O-R. Tailor. They call me the Tailor, which no one actually did”

Shame boiled up in Keith starting from his toes. At the same time he felt frozen. But, he also wanted to run. He never, ever, wanted this situation. He was two hours away, it had been eight years. How had he managed to find Taylor’s father. 

How had he managed to fall for him again?

Keith finally let a sob escape him. His knees felt weak, but he forced himself to continue standing. 

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Lance reached his hands out. “Come here Keith. You don’t want to wake up Taylor right now. Come here, I’ll talk with you gently.”

Keith slowly approached. The minute his hands touched Lance’s he collapsed into the alpha’s arms. Lance pulled him to lay down on the couch with him and held him tight. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Keith repeated, but he tried to be quiet. He couldn’t handle explaining to Taylor he’d found her father after she’d just lost the only thing she had of the man. 

“I...I can’t even imagine what you went through, Keith. I...I’m so angry. I won’t lie. I’m so incredibly angry with you. But, I also know you’re a huge jerk even though you never mean to be. I knew that the moment we met in gym class. Still, I was so happy to date you. When we met, I thought it was you, but you didn’t seem to know me and your name had changed. I get it now, you were adopted and left. It’s not an excuse for how you left me, though. And then you didn’t contact me when you found out you were pregnant?”

Keith buried his face against Lance’s chest taking in his scent even if it was angry. It...fuck, it did smell like him, but more mature. He’d lost the scent a long time ago, it was hard to remember it now and Lance usually kept his scent in check. 

“I didn’t know your last name...I guess I didn’t know your name at all. And I didn’t remember your address. It just...I would have taken care of it, but I didn’t find out until late winter. I couldn’t bring myself to give her up then. And my adopted parents were really nice, they deserved a grandchild. I’m...sorry, that’s selfish.”

“It is, but also it isn’t. I...I’m sorry, Keith. You’re not obligated to tell me. No one has to, but I would have...I just…” 

Lance’s voice cracked. His next words were low and scratchy. “I always wanted to be a father, Keith.”

He was crying. Keith felt so guilty. But, it was an emotion he was used to. A day never went by that he didn’t feel guilty for something. This, though, this broke his heart. 

“I didn’t know. I’m...stupid.”

Lance shook his head and held Keith closer. He kissed Keith’s hair. “You are and so am I. Fuck, my parents would have beat my ass and forced me to ask you to marry me.”

“That’s...that’s why…”

“Yeah, no...Keith...I...I’m so angry, but also so sad. For a lot of reasons, but I can’t leave you right now.”

“Maybe you should so you can think about it.”

“No, because I’m also happy. I get to hold you again and it’s better now than it was then. But, also...I’m happy because I’m a father.”

Keith remembered the picture of the gray cat on Lance’s fridge and the gray cat at ‘Taylor’s’ house and finally settled into the reality in front of him. 

“Yeah, yeah you are.”


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late
> 
> Have fun with this chapter!

**Chapter 5**

  
  
  


For once the weather matched the season and Keith watched the leaves falling on the street through his kitchen window. He had his hands covered by the sleeves of his sweatshirt as he held a mug. The tea in it had been hot. It cooled the longer Keith stared blankly outside on one of the few weekends he didn’t have to work at LION’s. 

There had been a lot of talking over the last two weeks. 

First, Keith had talked to his brother. Shiro looked genuinely apologetic, but when Keith’s brother knew he had done something wrong, he was the most annoying being on the planet so Keith forgave the man. Taylor would need a bit longer, but presents particularly in the form of food would work their way to her heart. She had been gloomy, but Keith’s little girl was far more mature than Keith was at that age. It wasn’t the first time Blue had been injured. Keith wanted to be there for Taylor, so he stuck close and made sure to plan out meals she’d like and offer her things when he took her out on errands. However, he thought it was best for her to work out her feelings on her own for now. If he tried to talk to her too soon, Keith would end up spilling the other thing he was struggling to tell her. 

Lance being ‘Taylor’ was a nightmare and a dream come true. 

Keith had known, some part of him had known. The man looked exactly like that awkward lanky boy Keith had fallen in love with in high school. He had the same personality, but more matured. There were so many similarities, but Keith had convinced himself that he would never see Taylor again. And if he did, it would only be in passing. The man would have a family already and be so successful that Keith was nothing to him. But, that wasn’t how it was. Lance was working on his success and had fallen for Keith again even though Keith had ran off on him all those years ago. Of course, he had thought Taylor as someone else’s and had been willing to deal with that, too. 

He was too forgiving, honestly. Keith thought it was a pretty big flaw, but he loved it all the same. 

Lance hadn’t exactly forgiven Keith. The thing was, neither of them wanted to stop the relationship they had restarted. Keith had beat himself up enough over it. The problem was Taylor. 

How did Keith tell her the teacher they’d met two months ago was actually her father?

Lance wasn’t much help. 

“I’m going to respect the decision you made when you found out you were pregnant, Keith. I might be her biological father, and looking at her it’s kind of stupid of me to not have noticed, but you had no plans on me every knowing that. She’s your child. If we weren’t dating I wouldn’t even encourage you to tell her though that would break my heart. It was your body, your choice, and your responsibility. We can plan another date once we know how she feels about it.”

Keith couldn’t help but admire how much of an adult Lance was. Too bad all of his flaws were also things Keith also found endearing. 

He had to tell Taylor. 

He had to tell Taylor soon. 

Keith broke away from staring out the window. He went to the microwave and reheated his tea. Taylor was coloring at the coffee table while watching a movie. There were tons of blankets and pillows on the couch, but they weren’t from her, but from Keith. The last few days he had started forcing her to snuggle with him. Usually, that was enough, but Keith knew he was missing something. He went to the calendar and tapped on Thanksgiving week. 

Heat. 

Keith’s heat was scheduled soon. He had already taken the days off. Taylor had been successfully bribed into going with Shiro to spend the holiday with her grandparents. But, now Keith had a choice. Heats were shorter when spent with an alpha and he wouldn’t be in pain for part of it. However, he wondered if it was too soon to ask his boyfriend to spend his heat with him. 

Boyfriend?

Lover?

Baby Daddy?

Fuck, they hadn’t even decided on what to call this relationship. Still, it wasn’t like they hadn’t had sex before. They had a child together already. And maybe having sex would help them work out this strain between them. 

Actually, that had never worked out before. Keith didn’t know why he always thought sex would fix things. Maybe he was just horny. 

Keith retrieved his mug and walked back to his nest of blankets and pillows on the couch next to Taylor. He would call Lance later. 

A holiday advertisement interrupted their show. It had a generic mother and father with a young boy and girl (presentations weren’t easy to determine through visual media), trying to have a good holiday that they royally screwed up by burning all the food only to be saved by some kind of catering service. Keith wished the show had portrayed two beta men as he remembered Shiro’s past serious relationships ending with a similar experience. He chuckled only to be cut off when Taylor snapped a crayon by pressing too hard on her paper. 

“Taylor?”

Her eyes had been on the screen. Taylor looked at Keith almost just as surprised. “S-sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s just a crayon. What were you coloring, though?” Keith asked. 

Taylor pushed over the paper. It was originally a blank sheet, but now it was filled with doodles of cats. In the middle, though, was a red figure Keith knew to be him because of the hairstyle holding the hand of a purple figure that was Taylor. However, Keith’s other hand was holding a blue figure’s hand. The blue figure had on a red tie and glasses and there was a gray cat at his feet. There were hearts drawn around them. 

Keith couldn’t help but blush. “That’s...a very cute picture, Taylor. I’m glad you like Mr. McClain so much.”

Taylor frowned. She tapped the broken crayon in her hand above the blue figure’s head. It was then that Keith noticed the words above their heads. There was Taylor’s name and above Keith’s was Daddy. Taylor had begun writing ‘Mr. McClain’ but stopped. She turned to Lance with an unsure look. 

“Is Mr. McClain going to be my new dad?”

Oh, well, maybe Taylor would be the one responsible for this conversation. Keith really wasn’t ready, though. 

“Well, just because I’m dating someone, that doesn’t make them your father,” Keith explained. 

“Why? Shiro always made me call his boyfriends Uncle whatever. I don’t even call Shiro uncle,” Taylor complained. 

Keith frowned. “That’s...you don’t have to call them uncle, that’s just Shiro being weird.”

“He’s weird,” Taylor agreed. “But...what if you get married? Then is he my new dad?”

Keith put his mug on the table and shifted so he could look at his daughter properly. “Taylor, would you like it if Lance was your...was a dad?”

Taylor looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged. “I’d like it better than not having one.”

That hurt. 

Keith had never kept it a secret from his daughter that Taylor was an accident, but he had always promised her she was not a regret. From the very beginning, he had explained to her complicated situations even though she didn’t understand them mostly because he didn’t know how to babyfy them and he wanted to be honest with her. Things like adoption and money and the days in which it was hard for him to have the energy to play with her. She knew her other parent was probably alive, but Keith had sugar coated that one thing a little. 

They had gotten separated before Keith knew he was pregnant, he explained. Their lives were better if they didn’t stay together. However, the world decided that Keith’s mistake earned him Taylor as a memory of the time he had been happy with her father. They shouldn’t go looking for him because Taylor needed to be an adult. Taylor understood that meant it would cost too much money and time to do right now so she let it go. Eventually, when she was old enough, Keith wouldn’t stop her from finding him, but Keith now knew it would have been impossible. The name she thought she shared with her father was a lie. 

“Well, Taylor, Doll, um...you see…” 

The more Keith stuttered through his words, the more annoyed Taylor looked. It was Keith’s expression, but through Lance’s blue eyes. How had no one called them out on this? Taylor really did look like both of them perfectly blended. 

Keith sighed. “Taylor, your father’s  _ nickname _ was Tailor. I named you after that. HIs real name is...well...he’s Lance. Your dad is Lance McClain.”

Taylor kept that annoyed expression for a few moments before her eyebrows shot up. “Wh-what? He...Mr. McClain didn’t tell me that!”

“Doll, he didn’t know about you,” Keith explained. “Neither of us realized it right away.”

“Why?” Taylor demanded. 

Keith sighed and gave Taylor his usual pathetic look when he had royally messed up. “Because your daddy’s an idiot.”

“That’s your excuse? Is that supposed to be news to me?” Taylor asked. 

Keith decided right then and there the sass was from Lance. 

“I’ll let that tone go this time, Taylor. I can’t explain it properly to you right now, but it has been a long time since we were separated. It takes time to get to know someone.”

“But...he’s my father?”

Keith reached out and cupped Taylor’s face. He rubbed a thumb beneath one blue eye and smiled. “Of course he is, you have his eyes.”

There were tears in them. It made Keith feel so stupid for hiding her away. 

Taylor pulled away and stood up. ‘Can I...can we go...can I call?...I want to talk to him.’

“How about you wait until later. I have to call him anyway. I’m sure he wants to talk to you, too before school.”

Taylor’s face suddenly fell. “My dad’s my teacher, gross.”

“And you’re going to keep acting like he’s just your teacher at school, do you understand? At least until we’ve worked things out. You’re good at secrets.”

Taylor nodded and crossed her finger over her heart. She turned to her drawing and sat back down. Eagerly, she picked up the crayon and wrote over the blue figure ‘Dad’. 

Keith wished Lance could see it. He stood, secretly snapped a picture of it with his cellphone, and went to the bathroom to make a call in peace. 

“Keith? I just got back from my run. Did you need something? I thought this weekend you just wanted to chill with Taylor.”

Keith ran a hand through his hair. “You’re so nice, Lance. I’m sorry about the picture I’m about to send you, it’s going to make you cry.”

“Keith, don’t torture me.”

“Speaking of torture,” Keith continued, “let’s talk about my heat.”

🧵

Keith had only been to a fancy restaurant twice in his life. The first time was when he got accepted into college and went for a family vacation that included high class dining to celebrate. The second was in college for a meeting. 

There were eyes on them as Keith followed Lance into the shiny romantically lit dining hall he had reserved. Keith wasn’t sure if the stares were because they were both scruffy looking young adults in suits cheap enough to be called pocket money to these people or if it was the smell of Keith’s pre-heat. He had put on a few patches to cover up the smell, but if you were planning to spend your heat with a partner, suppressors were ill advised. They didn’t stop the heat, they just toned down the horniness levels and got rid of your scent so you only smelt in pain. They were really only for emergencies. Heats only came about every three months and were easier to track by the time you were out of high school. If not, there were tons of different kinds of birth control for all genders, sexes, and presentations that could help. 

Lance took Keith’s hand as they followed a waiter to their table in a corner by the window. The warmth of it took Keith’s attention away from others.

When Keith had brought up the topic of his heat with Lance, he had just expected to go to the teacher’s apartment for a few days and that be it. What had happened instead was Lance had come over and was immediately bombarded by Taylor pushing their conversation to late at night. 

Taylor had been stumbling on what to call Lance sinde. Lance had said, Mr. McClain was fine for now since she needed to continue calling him that at school, but he preferred ‘Papa’ since Keith was already Dad. Keith had stayed in the kitchen watching them after the initial conversation. They were very awkward, but Lance was good with children and already knew how Taylor worked. However, Keith could see how hard he was holding back, resisting reaching out and touching her. The couple times he tried, Taylor shrunk back as she usually did with adults that weren’t Keith, Shiro, or her grandparents. She always looked to regret it right after and tried to show affection her own way by grabbing at Lance’s clothes when she wanted to ask him something. Taylor took him to her room and showed him all her favorite things then asked to watch a movie. Eventually, Keith left them with some snacks and went to work on research, coming back out to check on them. 

Late that night, he came out to see them both asleep on the couch with a movie on the screen casting soft lights on their cuddled sleeping forms. Keith felt his heart warm up from the sight and snapped a picture with his phone before moving to stand before Lance. He knelt down and pushed hair from Taylor’s face then moved to Lance. He let a finger caress the man’s nose alerting Lance enough for him to squint at Keith. 

“Do you want me to put her to bed?” Keith asked. 

Lance looked from Keith then to the little girl in his arms. He made a noise Keith had never heard from an alpha and wrapped his arms around Taylor tightly. When he looked back at Keith, he was pleading so desperately. 

“Can...is she really...mine?”

Keith nodded. Lance had shown Keith proof that he was who he said. All of his school stuff lacked any pictures of Keith since Keith had always skipped picture day and avoided school attention. 

Lance then carefully leaned in and kissed Taylor’s hair so softly it was barely there. “I love her already, but I don’t want to rush either of you. We should take our time.”

Keith agreed and they put Taylor to bed before discussing Keith’s heat. 

Apparently sharing Keith’s heat wasn’t considered taking it slow. Lance took a lot of convincing. It was less convincing really. Lance was apparently weak to being seduced by people he found attractive. He had done one nights. He had done casual hookups with people he didn’t actually like. Lance took care of his libido which made it hard for him to keep up too many excuses when Keith kept insisting he was fine with them having sex. Keith wasn’t someone that particularly wanted to have sex often. Lance was someone he had feelings for and sex with him had always been good in some form or another. He trusted the alpha enough to take care of him. 

Part of it stemmed from the guilt Keith still felt. Letting Lance share in his heat might help show him how much he actually appreciated Lance. It had never been about hurting the alpha, afterall. 

They came to a compromise. A date, then they would get a nice hotel and stay the three days of Keith’s heat. 

“Everything here is so expensive,” Keith complained while they waited for their dessert to be delivered. “Are you sure this is okay?”

Lance poured Keith another glass of wine. “For the fifth time, there weren’t even prices on the menu so you have no idea how much things were. And I’m paying.”

“It seems like a lot just to butter me up for something I asked you to do.”

“Nope, nope, nope, that’s not how this works, Keith. I know you don’t have a lot of experience with relationships, but sex is not something that is paid for when it’s a romantic thing. Sex work is different. We won’t talk about that. But, in relationships, you do things to make the other person happy, but you don’t have to.”

“Expensive food is supposed to make me happy?” Keith asked. 

“Did it taste good?”

“Yes,” Keith answered. It really had, but Keith had had things that tasted good for less than ten dollars. The atmosphere was nice, though. 

“Okay, there you go. It was worth it. Besides, it makes me happy to see you here all dressed up. I like to pamper...which might be something you should watch out for with Taylor. If she ends up liking dresses and jewelry my pockets are going to hurt.”

Keith laughed. “Right now, she just wants a cat, I’m sure.”

“Tell me when you’re prepared for her to have one, I’ll help buy stuff for it,” Lance said. 

Keith nodded. They really did talk a lot about Taylor during dinner and about high school. Keith also talked about his research job. It felt all very grownup.

After desert, they walked around a park that was doing a light show, Christmas decorations already up and running. Then, it was off to the hotel. 

“This is a really fancy place,” Keith commented as they headed up. 

“They have the best heat rooms my pockets can afford. But, don’t worry about it. You told me you bought all the...uh...essentials.”

Keith had purchased after heat pills. He wasn’t on anything, and it was too late to see a doctor. He also tried not to use his insurance on himself since children often had to see doctors and Keith’s plan was focused on keeping Taylor healthy. He had also gotten condoms, though Lance had said he also brought some. He remembered the condoms from their first time. Sometimes he wondered if that was when he got pregnant or the drunken homecoming after dance party? There had been a mention that the condoms were given to him by a brother. 

“Do you want to wash up first?” Lance asked. 

Keith was walking around the room when he heard Lance. He turned a raised brow at him. “Oh? Did you plan on starting before my heat?”

Lance’s face went red. “I...well...I’ll just prepare snacks and water for us.”

With a shake of his head, Keith moved over to Lance and cupped his face. “I was teasing you. I don’t mind us having a proper round before things get heated. It’s been nine years since we’ve just done it without any other emotions in the way.”

Lance put his hands on Keith’s hips and began to sway. “Oh? Is nervousness not an emotion. For a moment, I thought maybe you were experienced when you first started coming onto me. I was totally up for losing my virginity right then, but I felt sad thinking that. I was excited to know it wasn’t like that. Confused, but excited.”

Keith leaned up and kissed Lance softly. “You were really cute. I don’t know why I liked you.”

“I don’t know why you did either, but I’m glad you did. No matter how heartbroken I was after you left, I was happy the mysterious Keith and I got those couple moments together.”

“I’m not really all that mysterious.”

“No, you are,” Lance argued, “but now I know it’s not because you’re cool, it’s because you’re a jerk.”

Keith scoffed. “Was that supposed to be romantic?”

“Yes,” Lance said then suddenly he had lifted Keith up and they were moving to the king sized bed at the center of the room. 

Keith was thrown onto the bed, broken free of an entangled kiss. He barely had a moment to catch his breath before his alpha was on him. He held Lance’s face as they kissed again, lips following each other as they got into a comfortable position. Slowly, Keith moved his hands to Lance’s blazer and pulled it off. Lance threw it somewhere across the room and helped remove Keith’s own. 

Lance was faster at getting Keith undressed. He removed Keith’s tie with one fluid motion that made Keith moan. Then his button up was undone and opened leaving his bare skin to be tantalized by Lance’s mouth. Keith stopped Lance when his lips moved to one of his nipples. 

“You, too,” Keith said. 

Lance sat up. He stared down at Keith. He wore the glasses Keith really only saw him with at school. Instead of blocking the intensity of his eyes, they enhanced the look Lance burned into Keith’s skin as he stared down at Keith. Slowly, he slid his own tie off then began to undo his buttosn. His legs caged Keith’s beneath him and he began a slow rock against Keith’s hip. By the time Lance slid his shirt off, Keith could feel Lance’s hardness straining against his own through their pants. 

The alpha then removed his glasses and placed them aside before shifting between Keith’s legs. He began the process of removing Keith’s pants and then his underwear leaving Keith in only his opened shirt. Lance produced a small bottle and his own condom from his pocket and threw them aside. He undid his pants, but didn’t remove them. He pushed them down just enough to give room to his cock and Keith swallowed remembering its size. 

Their lips met again in long pulls and deep muffled moans. Lance broke off and trailed kisses down Keith’s body getting to his thighs and he stroked them lovingly. 

“There’s something I’ve always wanted to do to you,” Lance said. 

Keith hummed his question. 

Lance shuffled his face between Keith’s legs and moved in. First, he worked on Keith’s dick until it dribbled, but then his mouth went further down. Keith arched off the bed when he felt Lance slide his tongue inside his slicked up slit. Keith tried to reach down for Lance’s head, but his arms felt weak. With all the pleasure and excitement already coursing through Keith’s body, his omega slit was eagerly accepting of Lance’s tongue and the alpha met little resistance. Keith’s face lit up red as he was held in place and eaten out by his boyfriend. It was a strange sensation. The friction wasn’t as harsh as a dick being pushed in and out, but Lance’s tongue could pinpoint far better and it stroked faster. All Keith could do was squirm. This...it felt so good, too good. It was weird and so good. 

Keith could not say with confidence that he had never made this expression before during sex. He rarely paid attention to what he was doing and he didn’t have a lot of experience. But, right now, Keith knew he was gasping and making cut off moans as his stomach rolled. He knew he was panting, tongue out, and it wasn’t pretty. He didn’t have to be pretty right now, though, Lance’s face was in his crotch. 

The slurping from Lance reached Keith’s ears. He whined then gasped as he felt a tremor take over him. He squeezed his legs unintentionally as he rode out his high, loosening them a few seconds later to hear Lance’s muttered moans. 

“S-sorry,” Keith said looking between his legs.

When Lance looked at Keith, his eyes were cloudy, face red. He grinned a bit and rested his head against one of Keith’s thighs. He rubbed his nose against Keith’s muscle and nipped the skin before turning his head to Keith’s other thigh. Lance left kiss marks there. 

“Lance?” Keith questioned. 

“Do it again,” Lance said. 

“What?” Keith asked. 

Lance looked at Keith very seriously. “You can suffocate me with your ass or between your legs anytime, Keith. I’m not even joking. That was like heaven.”

Keith could only express his embarrassment. He was flattered, but to hear those words were strange to him. “Lance, please. That’s too much right now.”

“Alright, but we’re cuddling with my head between your thighs later,” Lance compromised and moved up to kiss Keith. 

Keith had tasted himself before, out of curiosity more than once. He quickly got over it as he was once again entangled in a kiss with Lance as the alpha fumbled with lube. Then there were fingers inside his slit loosening him up wide enough to take Lance. It sounded wet and Lance distracted him from the embarrassing noise with more kisses that went down Keith’s neck and to his chest. There, Lance paid attention to his nipples leaving them hard and tingly and flushed. 

“You ready?” Lance asked as he pulled his fingers out.

Keith nodded and shifted to remove his shirt. He then settled on the bed with his legs spread wide and hips lifted just a bit, watching Lance. Lance removed his bottoms and slipped on his condom watching Keith get settled. Keith reached out a hand to Lance. Lance took it and aligned himself with his other hand at Keith’s entrance. Holding hands, he entered. 

It was a slow start at first. Keith kept himself spread wide until Lance shifted. He smirked as if he remembered something and began to ram that one spot in Keith that Keith also remembered felt good. Keith broke away from holding Lance’s hand and wrapped his legs around his boyfriend’s waist pulling him deeper. He laid there, hands spread above his head as Lance pounded into him. Occasionally, Lance leaned down and kissed Keith and Keith found the energy to lightly stroke Lance’s face and hair. And when Lance pulled away, he moved his hands to stroke along Lance’s muscles before letting his arms fall back above his head as he enjoyed the pleasure built up between them. 

There was another small orgasm from Keith’s slit before the friction between their bodies made him cum from his dick. Lance took a bit longer. Keith didn’t register it was over until Lance had pulled out and was cuddling him into his arms. Keith kissed softly along Lance’s jaw enjoying their mixed scents. When the tingles of pleasure dissipated from his mind, he finally looked at their naked bodies pressed together. 

They were beautiful. 

Was that a strange thought to have? Keith wasn’t sure. 

Or was it weirder that he thought of Taylor as his eyes took in the length of Lance’s long muscled legs. She wasn’t quite as tanned as her father, but it looked as if she’d be tall, too.

Lance pressed a finger to Keith’s chin to get him to look up. Keith met those blue eyes that he had never forgotten and again was reminded how stupid he was to not have known who this was. He kissed Lance before he could speak. 

“Thank you, babe,” Lance said, “but I was actually going to suggest we bathe. I would be delighted to cuddle up between those thighs with them mess down there, but that can happen while you’re in heat. I read up on what I could and I should get you cleaned up when I can.”

“Do you want to cuddle in a bubble bath?” Keith asked. 

Lance’s face lit up. “A man after my own heart.”

Keith sure hoped so.

🧵

After a night of intimate cuddling and watching movies as they fell asleep, Keith woke up to cramping in his stomach. He felt warm and shivery. When he climbed out of bed, his legs were like jelly. Such things were expected at the very beginning of a heat, but a good jack off usually helped Keith through it. It wasn’t until Keith took his first step that he had the inkling this wasn’t his heat starting. Saliva coated his mouth and he felt suddenly very nauseous. He stumbled into the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before he started heaving. It took a couple minutes before anything actually came up and then it was another ten before he could breathe properly again. 

Keith laid against the fancy tile of the hotel bathroom and let the coolness bring his temperature back to normal. His insides felt wrong, but nothing hurt anymore, Still, he didn’t trust standing yet. Getting nauseous from heat didn’t happen without other contributing factors except when you first presented. Maybe something Keith had eaten had disagreed with him, but the food from the restaurant was highly praised and he had been careful to not only take lactose pills, but he hadn’t ordered anything with dairy in it. 

Those foods didn’t make Keith throw up, though.

Finally, Keith stood. His legs were still wobbly. He took one deep breath and ended up heaving into the sink. He chugged down a cup of sink water to help calm his stomach and get the taste of his revisited meal out of his mouth. A quick brush of his teeth and Keith felt better. 

He wasn’t hot anymore. 

Keith checked his pants. 

He wasn’t wet either. 

There had been a late shift that week where Keith had felt ill around the smell of one customer’s beer at LION’s, but he’d taken a pill and managed to stave it off. Even the meal Keith had let Shiro cook before he took Taylor to her grandparents hadn’t gotten Keith sick. Actually, it had tasted good. 

Taylor hadn’t thought so. 

Oh.

It was that thought that had Keith brushing out his hair then quickly pulling out a hoodie from his overnight bag. 

“Mmmh, Keith?” Lance mumbled from the bed looking around the hotel room. 

Keith approached his boyfriend and took his hand. 

“Hey, babe, you okay? I thought I heard you throwing up?”

“Yeah, sorry for waking you up. I think something last night didn’t agree with me. I’m not really used to fancy foods. There’s a gas station down the street. I’m going to walk to it and get some medicine and I’ll pick us up some cheap breakfast,” Keith said. 

Actually, a gas station sandwich sounded amazing. Then again, when Keith thought about what he had done to the hotel toilet, maybe he’d skip on that thought.

“What about your heat?” Lance asked. 

“It hasn’t started yet, it’s still really early in the morning. Plus, with how much you cling in your sleep, I must smell terrible to other alphas. Don’t worry, I’ll be right back, sleep a bit more.”

“Okay,” Lance agreed and let out a big yawn. “Only because I need my energy to take care of you. Take your phone.”

‘Will do,” Keith promised and leaned in to kiss Lance, but instead went for his forehead. The alpha seemed happy enough with that. 

The gas station was a little farther than Keith would have liked to walk, but getting an uber for such a short distance was a waste of money. It was the cooler part of the year, but still hot. Keith’s body was nice and warmed up by the time he got inside, but not the kind of warm he was hoping for. 

Keith meandered the aisles. He grabbed a few breakfast looking foods and then put them back and then picked them up again. He grabbed drinks, more than he probably needed as he already had a packed food supply at the hotel. Eventually, he ended up carrying a carton of orange juice around with a bag of powdered donuts before finally stopping at the small medicine aisle. 

For a long moment, Keith stared. 

And stared. 

He picked up a bottle for an upset stomach then looked back towards the drink coolers wondering if they had ginger tea. It wasn’t a very big gas station. 

However, like all gas stations, it had the essentials. 

Keith turned back and eyed the selection of pregnancy tests until he found one labeled ‘for male omegas’. He grabbed two and two of the all around pregnancy tests. Taking a deep breath, Keith walked up to the counter. 

They had had sex  _ once _ since meeting each other again before last night.  _ Once! _ But, it wasn’t like Keith was one hundred percent sure the first time he had sex with Lance in high school wasn’t when he got pregnant with Taylor. He assumed it was homecoming night, but getting pregnant a couple days before your heat didn’t trigger a missed heat especially when your cycle was messed up from stress. 

A month before would. 

And it had been unprotected. At the time, Keith hadn’t thought it was. 

“Stupid,” Keith muttered under his breath.

“Did you want anything from behind the counter?” the cashier asked as he rang up the tests. 

Keith looked at the old man surprised. He was round and balding and far from media appealing. Keith would have thought him a man that would be against offering such drugs. There were pills, legal, but looked down upon that were just late plan Bs. 

Keith shook his head. “No, I’m on holiday with my alpha.”

“Oh, so good news?” the man prodded seeming jollier now. 

“Uh, just...just news. I’m...supposed to be in heat.”

“Oh, heat holidays. My omega sister said those were always fun. Well, that’ll be $32.12.”

Keith paid the man who wished him well as he left. Halfway down the street, Keith pulled the orange juice carton out and began to chug. 

When Keith arrived at the hotel, Lance was still asleep. He had an arm over his eyes and was turned away from the light starting to filter through the hotel blinds. Keith didn’t think he would be asleep for much longer. He took the whole bag into the bathroom with him and began the process of taking a pregnancy test. 

It was odd to think, but Keith hadn’t taken a pregnancy test with Taylor. Or at least not the at home kind. He had been sick and Mrs. Shirogane had gotten fed up and took him to the doctor. The doctor had asked that terrible question that all underage children hated. 

Are you sexually active?

Keith had looked away, but he couldn’t lie. “Not since I was adopted.”

“How many months ago was that?”

“Four?”

And that was the only answer the doctor needed before administering a pregnancy test. 

The whole thing happened very quickly. Throughout it all, Mrs. Shirogane had said nothing. She smiled her usual smile and stayed close to Keith. On the ride home, she just made sure Keith had all the information he needed from the doctor and then told Keith he had all day to stay in his room and think about things without anyone bothering him. Except, that was too much space and Keith ended up talking to her. 

He had needed to talk to  _ someone _ . 

Keith chewed on one of the breads he bought as he waited for the results now seated on the tub ledge. The bathroom was large and he wasn’t right next to the sink counter, tempted to check the little plastic devices before they were ready. Instead he eyed them like a strange animal he wasn’t sure was dangerous or not. 

What was the probability that those tests were positive? Keith knew he wasn’t on regular birth control, but it was rare for male omegas to get pregnant outside of their heats or the days leading up to their heats. Except, there was a mini heat between heats that sometimes popped out an egg. Maybe? Keith had only ever been attracted enough to have unplanned sex with Lance and usually it was that or being in a safe secure environment that triggered it. Stress was what could make your heats get wonky and that was what Keith suspected it was. 

Besides, wasn’t Lance on contraceptives? He had to be on blockers to work in the schooling system. 

Maybe going straight to buying pregnancy tests was a bit of a stretch, but better safe than sorry. 

Keith’s cellphone timer went off. He finished his bread, stood up, and made his way to the little plastic tests feeling better after his pep talk. 

He was just stressed from all the excitement surrounding meeting Lance. It had been six years since his heats had been regular, a change was bound to occur. If he didn’t go into heat before their holiday was done, he’d see a doctor. 

Keith didn’t want to see a doctor, he had bare minimum insurance. He could wait it out a month. Then again, he should probably invest in his own contraceptives now that he was in an active relationship. 

Keith looked down at the sink and felt his heart drop into his stomach. 

One of the tests had an error symbol. The other three were positive. 

So, a trip to the doctor would be needed after all. 

Keith closed his eyes and tried to steady himself. He only felt weaker. His arms began to shake. He reached out for the counter and rested his head against the edge as he squatted and took deep breaths. 

“Keith! Keithy? Hey, Keith, are you in the bathroom?” Lance called. 

Lance sounded very much awake, but Keith hadn’t heard him get up. 

The bathroom door handle jiggled. Keith sighed in relief that he’d locked it. 

Then again…

“Keith? Hey, are you still throwing up? Did you get medicine? Do you want me to run down and get you something? Or, I can hold your hair back? Babe? Please answer, I’m getting worried. I don’t smell heat yet, what’s wrong?”

Lance did sound worried. 

Keith looked at the sink and the tests. He could clean them up and try and hide the evidence, but then Lance would know Keith was keeping something from him. Not that Keith had to tell Lance. They were dating, sure, but it was so early. Counting the week in high school, it had only been a month of an actual relationship. 

They couldn’t have a child together. 

Except, they already did. 

This would be two. 

Lance didn’t have to know. He didn’t know about Taylor, and he never would have if Keith had found out this early. 

The alpha doesn’t have to know. 

Keith let out a low whine and lowered even further to the floor. 

“Keith, what was that sound? Are you okay?”

Another whine escaped Keith. He turned to the door. 

_ I don’t...but I want to. _

Keith reached out and turned the knob. 

Lance threw the door wide open. His already panicked face grew more scared as he looked down at Keith on the floor. 

“What hap--” 

His eyes landed on the sink. “What?”

“I’m...pregnant, I guess,” Keith muttered. 

“How?” Lance asked, his voice cracking. 

“Couch,” Keith answered. 

“Wait...you aren’t...oh god Keith, I’m so sorry,” Lance said and suddenly he was on the floor pulling Keith to him. 

Keith immediately clung to Lance. The scent of him made Keith feel so much calmer, but being calmed let him think and thinking made him cry. 

“No, I-I’m sorry, Lance. I’m such an idiot.”

“Keith, no. I assumed since you were coming onto me that night that you had a plan on how to deal with us not using a condom. I shouldn’t have, but you’re so hot that I actually didn’t believe it when you said you hadn’t had sex in a while. I guess...I guess I’m still ignorant.”

“Lance, you’re the only one who thinks I’m that hot,” Keith argued. It wasn’t true, Keith knew that, but he only felt hot when Lance said it. “But, I thought the same thing with you. Teachers are supposed to take suppressants.”

“No, we’re required to take scent blockers. Omega teachers often take a combination of scent blockers and suppressants that also work as a contraceptive. I work with children so I’m only required to take them as a precaution around my co-workers.”

Keith chuckled. “See how little I know.”

Lance combed his fingers through Keith’s hair. “Stop putting yourself down. I do think maybe we should talk about these things, but there’s something else we need to talk about first, Keith.”

Keith’s heart clenched and he held onto Lance tighter. “No.”

“Keith, I won’t be mad if you...it’s your body, Keith. We’re barely dating. I’m happy enough with just Taylor.”

Tears finally fell from Keith’s eyes and he sniffled. “Why are you so nice, Lance? I...I should get rid of it, but…”

“What is it Keith?”

“Do you...do you not want it, Lance?” Keith asked softly. 

Lance was silent for a long moment. He let out a sigh and then a sob. 

“Oh, god, Keith. Don’t do this to me again. I love you so much.”

“Lance?”

Lance pulled away so they could look at each other. He held Keith’s face between his hands. “Keith, I’ve loved you since gym class. I don’t mean romantically. I hated you at first, but you smiled at me, did you know that? Whenever we fought, you’d send these little smiles and it made me so happy. At first I just wanted to be your friend. I had some misconceptions about what being an alpha was about. Before we started dating I dealt with some things personally, but I would catch you smiling at me between classes and I knew, no matter what, I just wanted you to be happy, but I didn’t know how to connect with you since we weren’t in the same grade and we didn’t have more classes together. Then you asked me out and I realized I liked you.”

“I liked you, too. I really did.”

“You broke my heart when you disappeared, Keith, but that was the heart of a fifteen year old boy who had had a week long whirlwind love affair for the first time. This is different, now. What to do is your choice. We’re too old to think selfishly about this.”

Keith sighed and pulled Lance’s hands down. “What if we could be selfish about it? What would you want, Lance?”

Lance looked at Keith seriously, even with tears still falling from his eyes. “I want the baby and I want you and I want Taylor. I want us to fall  _ in _ love and move into a house with a yard. I want to adopt cats and a big dog and watch you chase them all around with my bite on your neck and a ring on your hand. But, that dream doesn’t have to be with you. It wasn’t you for a long time. I won’t make you fit my desires, Keith. I’m not angry about Taylor anymore, it’s a blessing to know that maybe that dream will never happen, but at least I get to be a father.”

That wasn’t fair. Keith stared at Lance’s face and wished he could have this much understanding. 

“You...want a family?”

“I have a family, one I love very much. What I want is to add to my family. I want a home of my own where I can love children and a partner the way I saw my parents do it,” Lance answered. “Is that what you want, Keith? Do you want a family of your own, a home?”

Do you want a family? Do you want a home?

The Shirogane’s had asked Keith those same questions when they began the paperwork for the adoption. 

Keith had said yes, but he had never meant it. He just wanted out of the system and the Shiroganes were nice and Shiro was so cool. Still, he was always ready to run. Even with Taylor, he had moved out as soon as he could. 

The Shiroganes had never felt like his real parents. Their house never felt like home, not the way that old shack he used to live in with his father felt always filled with the smell of pancakes since that was all the man could make and the clothes that used to be his mothers that made up his father’s nest. 

None of it felt like family. 

None of it felt like home. 

Not since then. 

Taylor deserved one, which is the only reason he hadn’t completely disappeared with her and he couldn’t bear the thought of living without her. 

Keith reached out for Lance. He couldn’t run this time, so he would hold on tight. 

“I want that, too, Lance, I want a family. I want a home to go to.” 


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains opinions of people that really shouldn't have opinions concerning Keith and his pregnancy
> 
> But also Lance and Lance is cool

**Chapter 6**

  
  
  


The term morning sickness was a lie. During Keith’s previous pregnancy, he hadn’t had any real symptoms until December and most of his throwing up had been in the morning. It also lasted longer than was normal due to Keith being so young, but after that he didn’t have that hard of a pregnancy until the actual birth. Keith had hoped he could at least stick to the morning part of morning sickness this time since he never went into LION’s earlier than ten am. The baby inside him, though, had other plans. Those plans included Keith knelt on the bathroom floor of LION’s wearing his holiday uniform and throwing up the convenience store burrito he had grabbed before coming in to work the Sunday after his supposed heat.

After sitting in the hotel bathroom with Lance for a while, Keith agreed to seeing a doctor that day. They both had the time and it wasn’t the actual day of any holiday events. They went to the first clinic they could find. Lance tried not to follow Keith in, but Keith hated doctors and refused to let go of Lance’s hand. He could only be just over a month, so Keith knew there wouldn’t be any ultrasounds. The little group of cells growing inside him probably didn’t even have a heartbeat. Keith was glad he had found out about Taylor later. When he looked up the stages of fetus development while waiting, he saw that what was inside him now looked an awful lot like that stomach burster from  _ Alien _ . Unfortunately, he had told Lance that and now he was waking up to texts from his boyfriend in the middle of the night because the alpha had nightmares about it. 

Ultimately, they decided to keep the baby for now.

Though Lance kept assuring Keith that he could go anytime before the third trimester and change his mind without telling Lance about it (after that, Lance just asked to be notified even if it was only a minute before), Keith knew the man was already in love with the tadpole in Keith’s stomach. Even without an ultrasound or a heartbeat, just a piece of paper that confirmed the pregnancy from a doctor neither of them knew before that day, Lance was absolutely in love in the purest way. 

Keith felt jealous of that, he had felt numb at first with Taylor and numb now. It was the expression on Lance’s face when they got the official news that made Keith certain he wanted to keep it.

The worst that could happen was Keith and Lance stayed in separate homes and broke up. Maybe Lance would find someone else and mate and have other children. Maybe Keith would end up agreeing that Taylor and this baby would do better living with Lance and his new family.

Then, Keith could finally disappear. 

So, it wasn’t even that bad of a situation, but the thought made Keith’s stomach roll worse with the morning sickness. 

And at the best?

Keith didn’t want to let himself think about the best scenario. He had already messed up so much. But, he supposed it was the same dream that Mrs. Lester had. 

They were so very different, it was funny to think that was what Keith wanted, too. 

A happy family of his own. 

There was a knock on the door. Keith heaved himself off the bathroom floor and opened his stall just in time to see Plaxum push her head in. 

“Keith? Are you okay?” she asked. 

“No, but I think I’m done for now,” he said and walked over to the sink to wash his hands and rinse his mouth out.

“Luxia wants to see you. She said the customers were complaining about the sounds.”

Keith rolled his eyes. He just had to be sick on the day his store manager was in. “Alright, tell her I’ll be out.”

Plaxum disappeared and Keith took a few moments to freshen up. He would have to remember to check out pregnancy safe stomach meds to hide in the locker room. 

For a sunday, LION’s wasn’t particularly busy. The church rush was over and they had one large reservation later tonight that Keith had thought about staying for even though his shift ended early. Now, he thought it would be best just to go home, curl up with Taylor, and drink some tea. 

Already feeling tired, Keith pushed open the door to the manager’s office. 

“Hello, Keith,” said an older very finely dressed omega woman. 

“Hello, Luxia.”

Luxia waved to a seat in front of her desk and Keith gratefully took it. Throwing up really drained you. 

“Are you sick? Do I need to send you home today so you can take care of whatever it is making you ill?” Luxia asked and typed at her computer. 

Keith shrugged. “I mean, I think I’m good for today, but who knows. It’s not like you can send me home every time I get sick, right?”

“True, you are a prized worker.”

“Do you want me to head back to the floor?” Keith asked. 

“Not quite yet. Could you take a drug test for me?”

Keith furrowed his brows. “I mean, sure, but why?”

Luxia stopped typing and looked at Keith surprised. “I didn’t think you would say yes. I was hoping the sickness was just from having too much fun during your days off. It was difficult to schedule around you for those days. You should try the suppressors I take. It’s like not going into heat at all.”

“Don’t worry about my heats, Luxia.”

“Keith,” the manager said seriously, “take care of it.”

Keith felt himself freeze then anger began to bubble beneath his skin. “Did you just...Luxia, you can’t just ask me to do that.”

“I didn’t ask you to do anything, Keith, I just asked you to take care of yourself. You’re one of my best workers, but I run a very particular establishment. It was difficult enough for me to get my hands on this LION’s, but I have made it highest rated in this district. I like having a diverse waiting staff and you are a prime example. I want you to stay like that.”

“Luxia, I’m not going to be at LION’s forever.”

“I know or else I was going to make you a manager when you got too old,” Luxia said. “I took a gamble on you in the first place.”

Keith sighed and lowered his head. “I know and I’m thankful for that. I have never respected the morals of this place, but I respect the associates and the hard work that they put into it. They aren’t all what I thought they were and they aren’t all in my position. I learned that lesson already from my previous job. I’ve learned to respect the other people here, are you not going to do the same?”

“I can’t let it slide again, Keith. It’ll be obvious,” Luxia argued. 

“It’s the same father,” Keith said suddenly. “I know I’ve never come right out and said it, but I want you to know because I respect your opinion of me, Luxia. It’s the same man. He’s...he’s still as wonderful as he was when we were teenagers, even more. So, I can’t take care of it. If I have to quit I will, but if I could be moved to a different position in the restaurant when it becomes obvious, I would genuinely appreciate it.”

Luxia sighed. “And if he leaves you?”

“We’re adults now, Luxia. We’ll take responsibility. It won’t be the same.”

Luxia slid her chair back from the desk. “I really like you, Keith. You’re different and you try hard. However, I’ve never had children nor do I want them. I don’t get why you would risk your body to do that, but you’re right. This conversation is enough to get me in trouble as is. Promise that if you start showing, you’ll quit.”

Keith stood and bowed his head. “I promise. And I won’t tell the others. I want them to work hard and be responsible, but things happen. I hope you understand and will be happy for me.”

The manager waved a hand and shooed Keith out of the office. Keith walked to the changing room to grab a quick drink and took one more deep breath. It was then he realized he was shaking. 

Telling someone was hard. 

Keith hadn’t even said the actual words yet. He hadn’t uttered, “I’m pregnant.”

“I’m pregnant,” he said softly into the empty changing room. 

He felt ill again. 

Shiro. 

The Shiroganes.    
  
The Holts. 

Lance’s family. 

Taylor. 

The school. 

There were so many people that would need to be told. 

“I’m pregnant,” he repeated again and this time it felt good. 

🧵

Keith stared at the calendar in the kitchen once again. It was december. The first semester of school was almost over. He would be two months soon and that meant the little bundle of cells growing in his body would start to take the shape of something more human. 

That day, he could have gotten rid of it. It bothered Keith that he kept thinking about it. He knew he wasn’t going to change his mind. But, only his manager and Lance knew. Luxia didn’t matter, but Keith knew Lance’s feelings on the whole situation. Sometimes, when the teacher stopped by to eat dinner with them, Keith would catch Lance looking at Keith’s stomach. No one else knew, no one else would have to know. 

That still didn’t change Keith’s mind.

Yet, it didn’t make it feel real. The talk with Luxia had been roundabout and very open ended. There was no excitement, no peppering questions. Shiro had become a true protective big brother when he had found out about Taylor. Even though he was a beta, he was worse than any alpha Keith could imagine. It had gotten them in trouble a few times when those around them started to assume it was Shiro who was the father. Child services had even had that thought though Shiro didn’t live at home and was staying at his college dorm with a boyfriend.

Did he want attention? Maybe. Keith patted his stomach. 

“Dad, are you feeling sick again?” Taylor asked from the counter where she was eating cereal. 

Keith looked over at her surprised. “What? No, I’m alright.”

Taylor frowned. “You’ve been sick since before the holiday. You should go to the doctor.”

Keith huffed out a laugh. His own daughter was telling him to go to a doctor. He walked over to her and ruffled a pigtail. “Thank you for worrying, Doll, but I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, eyeing him. 

“Yes, Taylor, I’ve already seen a doctor if that makes you feel better. Lance took me.”

Taylor nodded satisfied with that and went back to eating. 

It wasn’t a minute later that she spoke up again.

“Mr. Mc--Lan--uhhh...Papa, wanted to know if he could call me Doll, too,” Taylor said. “I told him no.”

Keith laughed. “And why is that?”

Taylor stirred her spoon around in her leftover milk. “Because...that’s what you call me. It’s...special.”

“Aww,” Keith cooed and moved to the other side of the counter to pull Taylor into a hug. He didn’t tease her like this often, but sometimes she was really cute. He kissed the top of her head as she grumbled. “Sometimes you can be really cute, Doll.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said and pushed Keith away. 

Keith just pet her hair and smiled down at her. She was so pretty and so innocent and pure. And she was smart. Taylor may have inherited Keith’s attitude, but he tried his best to make sure she didn’t fall behind. He used to try and hide her away from others when he first moved out and he still wanted to do that, but it was best that she had people who could take her in if something happened to him. 

Keith’s chest clenched and he went back to the calendar. 

“You’ve been doing well at school. No one else has given you trouble, right?” Keith asked as he began writing in shifts. 

“No. I stick around Mr. McClain if those boys try to bother me, but everyone hates them.”

“I think you’ll be doing a lot of fun stuff, soon. Do you know if you can still wear your holiday sweaters? Can you try them on after you’re done eating? And that red dress.”

Taylor pushed her bowl away and jumped down from the stool she was sitting on. “I’m done!”

Keith picked up the bowl and walked to the sink to wash it out along with his own breakfast dishes. He stared out the window and thought he saw Lance’s car pull out of the apartment’s garage. It made him a little sad he didn’t know where Lance was going, but they didn’t live in the same apartment, just the same building. There was no need to move in together unless expenses made it make more sense. Even then, they would make that choice closer to summer, before the baby was born. 

Baby. 

He was going to have another baby. 

Keith’s hand stroked his stomach. 

“Daddy!”

Keith turned slowly to look at his daughter. The snowman sweater she had on was definitely short for her. She was growing up so fast. Keith sniffed and turned away. 

“Doll, that’s too small, try the red dress and your dress shoes on.”

Taylor didn’t go back right away. She approached Keith and patted his thigh. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

No, he wasn’t, but it wasn’t anything bad. Pregnancies made you emotional, he’d read. Or, maybe he was just emotional in general. It didn’t matter. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. Go try on the dress.”

Taylor didn’t look like she believed him, but she turned and hurried back to her room. 

Keith took in a deep breath. Shiro was going to need to know. He would be on Lance so hard. He still needed to have a proper talk about Lance with his brother after all. Shiro was still being punished when Keith very quickly mentioned he was spending his heat with the teacher. He’d grilled Keith, but was still in the dog house according to Taylor so it was a short argument. He wouldn’t let it be short this time. Then there were the Shiroganes who would be delighted to be grandparents again. Shiro would get shit for that. Two grandbabies from the kid they had adopted and none from their older actual son. Keith laughed then stopped. 

He’d tell them closer to the holidays, Keith decided. 

Taylor stumbled out of her room and Keith stared at her barely able to fit in her favorite red dress anymore. She didn’t even have her shoes on. 

“The shoes didn’t fit,” Taylor said. 

When would he tell  _ her _ , though. Keith hadn’t even stopped to think how his daughter would feel. 

Keith stood and grabbed Taylor’s hand. SIlently, he led her to the couch and took up their usual spots with him on the coffee table. 

“Taylor, can I ask you a question?”

Taylor nodded as she shifted around on the couch, put off by the way the dress wasn’t fitting her right. 

“Doll, how would you feel about having siblings?”

Taylor looked up in surprise. “Wait, what? I can have those?”

Keith lowered his head as he tried to hide his laughter. “Y-yes, Taylor. But, do you want any?”

The little girl thought hard. Her face relaxed and she turned her head up looking at the ceiling above, probably thinking of Lance. She often looked up when talking about the man since his apartment was on the floor above theirs. If someone else was talking to her about him, they would probably get the wrong message. 

“Does he have other children?” Taylor asked. 

Keith frowned. “He doesn’t have children with anyone else.”

“Just with Dad?”

Keith nodded. “Just with me. But, he could have more with me. Not half siblings, Taylor, full siblings. Would you want more full siblings?”

Taylor blinked then, finally, shrugged. “I guess.”

“Taylor,” Keith sighed then smiled at his daughter. “What if I didn’t give you a choice in the matter?”

“I get a choice?”

Keith huffed. “Okay, that’s enough. You don’t get a choice. I’m already pregnant, you’re going to be a big sister.”

With that, Keith stood, patted his daughter on her head, and started for his own bedroom. 

“Wait, Dad! Daddy! You’re having a baby?” Taylor asked and rushed after Keith. 

Keith turned just in time to get an armful of kid as Taylor hugged him tight. When she looked up at him, her eyes were bright. 

“Are you really having a baby?”

Keith patted his stomach. “Yes, but you have to keep quiet about it. No one, but your Papa knows yet. You can’t even tell Shiro. Promise?”

Taylor stuck out her pinky. “Promise!”

They curled fingers and shook on it. 

“When are they getting here, the baby?”

Keith opened his mouth to answer then frowned. 

Fuck. 

“Probably around your birthday.”

“Cool! A birthday present!” And then Taylor was gone to her room again. 

“Get changed, we’re going to the store,” he called after her then looked up. 

Lance might be a little mad when he found out Taylor knew. Oh well, let the man sweat over it until he figured it out. Keith was the one pregnant afterall. 

🧵

After finding out Taylor knew, Lance insisted Keith go on workout dates with him. Mostly, it was tagging along with Keith for his runs. Keith didn’t mind. He was more upset that it took one day of Taylor being at school for her to drop that she was in on the news she was going to be a big sister. Lance had pissed her off in class. During one of the moments they were alone together, she had threatened the man that was her father if he didn’t let her turn in what she had. Honestly, Keith found it hilarious, but he had to be a parent and explain to Taylor why she couldn’t threaten her teacher even if he was her father. 

“It’s cold out, whew,” Lance said as they shuffled around the doorway of Lance’s apartment taking off their shoes. 

“I told you to wear a hoodie,” Keith responded and pushed past Lance to flop onto the couch. 

Lance walked over to the kitchen. “You’re the one in a tank top.”

Keith shuffled around on the couch so he was sort of sitting. Lance’s couch was comfortable and good for slouching. No wonder he always found Taylor asleep on it. No wonder he had gotten pregnant on it. He patted the seat next to him as if petting an animal. 

“I’m naturally a heater, but I’m also pregnant. I hope it’s a cold winter.”

Lance came and sat on the couch beside Keith handing him a cold water bottle. “How are you? It wasn’t too hard of a run was it?”

Keith fought with the top of his water bottle. The cold outside made it slippery. Eventually, he just stuffed it under his shirt. “I’ll be fine. I’m not even showing yet, Lance. We found out earlier than most people do.”

“Yeah, I read up on that,” Lance said and reached under Keith’s shirt to pull the water bottle out. 

Keith raised a teasing brow at him and watched as Lance opened the bottle before handing it back. It was nice and refreshing going down his parched throat. 

“Are you staying longer and finishing my routine with me?” Lance asked. 

“Sure, Taylor is with Shiro this weekend. Besides, don’t you usually go out later on fridays to workout?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to workout with you and you workout right after Taylor gets home from school.”

“If I work late, yeah, I actually work out in the morning then take a run before work,” Keith explained. 

“Right, that, so it’s a workout date. And you don’t even work tonight, right?”

Keith nodded and took another long drink of water before shifting to lean against Lance even though they were both sweaty and starting to smell. 

“Hey, Keith, the big winter holiday is coming up and I realized something,” Lance said. 

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know your favorite color.”

Keith chuckled. “Oh, just that?”

“No, well, things like that. We usually share about college events or little memories. A lot of it is you telling me about Taylor while she grew up which I appreciate, but I’m dating  _ you _ , so I want to know those little things about you, not the stuff I learn by watching, but the stuff you tell me. 

Keith nuzzled closer. Lance did smell a little, but underneath that, there was his alpha smell that was usually held back by his suppressors. 

“Black,” Keith said. 

“What?”

“My favorite color is black.”

“Not red?”

“I like red, too, but red looks good with black. And purple,” Keith explained. 

“Wow. Actually, red’s my favorite,” Lance said. 

“Everything you own is blue, though.”

Lance laughed. “I like the color red, but I tend to prefer blue things. Also, my eyes are blue so it looks good.” 

“Yeah, you look good in blue,” Keith agreed. 

“And you look good in black and red.”

“Do you have another question?” Keith asked. 

“Ah, your favorite animal?”

Keith thought for a moment. “I like big fluffy dogs more than cats, but I like cats more than dogs in general. But, if we’re not talking about just pets then hippos.”

“Hippos!” Lance let out a loud laugh. “That’s adorable. I don’t mind dogs, but I like cats more. Sharks, though, sharks are awesome.”

“Food?” Keith asked. 

“Garlic knots, you?”

“Dairy.”

“You’re lactose intolerant!” Lance laughed. 

“And?” 

Lance stayed silent for a bit then looked away nervously. 

“What is it?”

“Can I ask a personal question?”

Keith nodded. 

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. It actually doesn’t matter, I’m just curious.”

“Lance, I said it was fine, ask.”

“Well, you said your last date was that night at homecoming, but...you...have you not been with anyone else?”

Keith’s face reddened. He sat up and looked away. 

“It’s okay if you have, Keith. I’ve been with others.”

Keith pulled his ponytail from his hair and ruffled a hand through the sweaty strands. He took another sip of water. He opened his mouth. His mouth felt dry. 

“Keith?”

“I...I’m not proud of a lot of what I’ve done in my life, Lance.”

Lance lifted a hand to Keith’s back and patted it. “It’s okay, I’m not here to judge you, Keith. I love you one way or another. I’ll listen if there’s something you want to share.”

Keith stared off blankly He didn’t like recalling the time in college when he wasn’t in class or with Taylor. 

“I had trouble graduating high school. I got a GED instead and got accepted to the nearby college a year later. It was an hour away from my home and in the totally different direction from where you went to college. So, I moved out with Taylor only a baby. At first I lived off my adopted parents and Shiro. I actually did really good, but then Taylor started walking and crawling and Shiro just had a really bad break up and I didn’t want to force him to help me out. Eventually, I found a night job so Shiro could stay at my place and sleep with the baby and I stopped taking money from the Shiroganes.” 

“Where did you work?” Lance asked. “Not a lot of places are open in the middle of the night. I could see you manning a bar.”

Keith sighed. “I wasn’t old enough to man the bar, but I was old enough to get naked.”

Keith could feel Lance’s eyes widen. 

“I should have kept the Shiroganes’ money. They wanted a second child so badly they made sure to live a life that would be able to provide. They are really well off, but it felt wrong living like they wanted me to. I was a teen mom going to college, I was supposed to struggle, right?”

“I don’t think you have to, Keith.”

Keith huffed. “Well, I did. I...it’s stupid now, but it wasn’t like I wasn’t an idiot back then. We both know that already.”

“You weren’t an idiot, you’re smart,” Lance argued. 

“I don’t mean on paper. I often didn’t do my work because I didn’t feel like it, not because I didn’t know how to. It all seemed useless. I didn’t want to be paid attention to so I just stuck to what people expected of me as the orphan kid. Same went for being a teen mom. I became a stripper.”

“Oh, a stripper? That’s not a bad job.”

Keith laughed this time. “That’s what people say nowadays. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. I can’t do pole tricks, but apparently I naturally know floor moves.”

“I mean, yeah you looked pretty good dancing on DDR.”

“That’s why I won. However, at the time, the club I was at, you were encouraged to do more than just dance for people.”

Keith stopped for a moment and took another drink. “I didn’t like it. For a long time I refused to do anything more than dances and sometimes I would go to the backroom and, like, step on people or call them names. I attracted those sorts, I guess it’s not surprising.”

“You could step on me,” Lance said almost as if he hadn’t meant to. 

“Lance,” Keith warned. 

“Sorry, sorry, that was supposed to stay an inside thought.” 

“Anyways, Taylor got sick. I wasn’t expecting her to need a flu shot, but she got the flu really early that season. It turned out not to be a big deal, but the two days they kept her at the hospital and the medicine I had to give her were really overpriced and I wasn’t under the best of insurance since I had my school’s. That was about half way through college. I tried giving head in the back of the club, but it...I couldn’t do it and always ended up fighting the customers who tried to force me to continue.”

Keith glanced at Lance. The alpha kept his inside thoughts inside. Keith hadn’t yet given his boyfriend a blowjob, but Lance also hadn’t asked for one and now he probably wouldn’t. It wasn’t that Keith wouldn’t enjoy giving a blowjob, he wasn’t actually sure if he would or not. Thinking about things after they had happened seemed sort of useless, but he had thought. 

“I got fired because of that. Um, that Griffin kid, his brother, I met him at the strip club. We attempted to hit it off in the back of the club, but he was actually one of the nicer guys. I did punch him, but because he insulted me not assaulted me. But, right before I got fired, I learned about this thing called a ‘Sugar Daddy’.”

“Oh, wow. So you’ve been on fancy dates?” Lance asked. 

“No, there was no dating. At least, by your definition, they weren’t dates. One of my fellow strippers took me to meet one of her Sugar Daddies and his friends. One of them was...um...ugh.”

“You don’t have to…”

“Stop being nice Lance,” Keith said and flopped back against his boyfriend. “You should know. It’ll probably answer a lot of questions you didn’t know you had. I caught the eye of the dean of my major.”

“Oh, wow, Keith, you’re something.”   
  


“I know,” Keith sighed. “He was married, too. I strung him along a lot. Made him work for every little physical contact. I acted like I was a virgin, but he knew I wasn’t. Apparently only having had one partner before was as good as being one to a guy in his forties. I didn’t get a lot of stuff, I didn’t want a lot. I would say an amount and why I needed it and he would say what he wanted in return. Then, I think his wife started getting a sniff of his affair or it started becoming a problem with someone else on the faculty. Either way, I got scared so I set the amount it would take for me to sleep with him.”

“How much was it?” Lance asked. 

Keith was more surprised Lance didn’t ask if he’d gone through with it. That night was the most disgusting memory Keith had. Nothing had gone wrong. Everything had been textbook and vanilla. Keith had gotten into the dean’s car and they drove to a fancy hotel out of town. They had dinner. Keith drank a couple glasses more than he should. It helped to keep him numb. Then, he laid down wearing velvet black gloves and expensive jewelry and that was it. He was supposed to act like just a hole, a dolled up hole. That was what they both wanted. But, every touch felt wrong. The back of Keith’s neck burned at all times and it was the alcohol that kept Keith from running. Little prepped was taken in the hotel room. Keith had done most of it beforehand. Eventually, Keith had just asked if they could do it from behind. The whole time Keith kept a glove over his mouth and swallowed back his own vomit as he tried to project his consciousness somewhere else. Right after, he cleaned up and left without a word to the dean. 

“It was everything I owed to the college, plus everything I would need to pay in the future to graduate,” Keith explained. 

“You had him pay for your college?”

Keith shook his head. “I had him transfer me that much. But,...I hated him touching me. It was strange. I was willing to do all of those things at first, but when it came down to it, it all felt wrong. I’m not...Lance, I know I jumped you multiple times, but my sex drive isn’t really that high to begin with and that night on homecoming, I think you bit me. It wasn’t a permanent mating mark. I don’t think I was properly in heat, but temporary mating marks can last a long time on an omega if they are still emotionally attached to who bit them. Having a baby can do that.”

“I...kind of do remember biting you, but I never felt the mating mark pack,” Lance admitted. “I went into a bit of a depression after you left, so that might have been from that, but I moved on, not completely, but enough. I’m sorry Keith.”

Keith shook his head. “No, I still would have hated what I put myself through. But, I guess it was worth it.”

“Wasn’t it awkward to go back to school after that?” Lance asked. 

“Yeah, it was. I paid off what I owed for the time I had been there then transferred the next semester to online classes. Eventually, I started going to the community college here for classes I couldn’t get online. My store manager at LION’s was close to one of the workers from the strip club who I was still in contact with and she helped me get hired there. Online and community classes are cheaper, so I’ve been using the extra money to pamper Taylor and afford my apartment. It’s a bit larger than yours.”

“I see. Well, I don’t think you should have had to push yourself into that experience, but I think you got a lot out of it in the end,” Lance said. 

Keith wasn’t exactly expecting that response. “You don’t think I’m an idiot?”

Lance moved an arm around Keith’s waist and pulled him close. “We are both idiots who have made their lives more complicated than they needed to be, but we are people. You did what you thought you were supposed to do and grew from it. Would you sleep with someone again for money?”

“No.” 

“If you were single?”

Keith scrunched up his face. “For a couple million, maybe. Depends if Taylor needed it.”

“Good answer,” Lance said and chuckled. 

“You know,” Lance continued with a sigh, “I told myself I wouldn’t fall for another single parent. I mean, Allura wasn’t a parent when I started liking her, but when I fell in love with her she was. That was a mistake, this time it wasn’t.”

“Taylor’s your kid, it’s not the same,” Keith pointed out. 

“It’s not, but neither is this pregnancy. We were high schoolers last time, we’re adults who know each other’s proper names now.”

Keith tried to fight his way out of Lance’s hold. “You’re never going to let that name thing go, are you?”

“No, Keith, you literally named our daughter after a stupid pickup line, live with your mistake,” Lance said and suddenly his fingers were dancing beneath Keith’s skin trying to tickle at him. 

It did tickle, but Keith didn’t laugh. 

Not at first. 

“Hahahaha, okay, Lance, please, stop, I beg you. Laaa~aaance!”

Lance pulled his hands away and smiled at Keith as he righted himself. Lance’s eyes softened. 

“Keith, thank you for sharing that with me. I know I said I was going to work out a bit more, but how about we just take a nice bath together?”

Keith raised a brow. “You’re going to start that after I tell you about the only other man I’ve had sex with?”

Lance shook his head. “Nope, nothing sexual unless you start it. Just sensual romantic cuddling in a shower. Then I’ll cook dinner. How about it?”

Keith leaned over and pressed a kiss to Lance’s cheek. “Let me have one of your sweatshirts to wear and take home and it’s a deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every other fri/sat


End file.
